Chandigarh, Nov 27 : Paddy arrival in Haryana this season so far has surpassed the total arrival last year.

Food and supplies officials said Friday that 43.33 lakh tonnes of paddy had arrived in grain markets of the state till Thursday evening.

Last year, the total arrival of paddy in the entire season was 43.03 lakh tonnes.

Neighbouring Punjab had Thursday crossed the 140-lakh-tonne paddy target set for this season despite not so favourable weather conditions.

Punjab and Haryana contribute over 50 percent of the total foodgrain production in the country.

Haryana Food and Supplies Minister Mahender Pratap Singh said despite scanty rains in the state during the monsoon season, higher production of paddy had been achieved by the farmers.

He said out of the total arrival of paddy, over 26.22 lakh tonnes had been purchased by the government procurement agencies and 17.11 lakh tonnes by millers and dealers. (IANS)