MADURAI: An increase in the off-season cultivation of Karuppu Kavuni paddy – a traditional variety widely opted by farmers across several districts such as Madurai, Tiruchy and Virudhunagar – has created a glut in the market, leading to a severe price drop. The deep purple-black-colour paddy variety, which has an average wholesale market price of Rs 50-Rs 60 per kg, was sold at just Rs 35 per kg in Madurai on Sunday. The price of rice, however, remains around Rs 80-Rs 120 per kg.
Karuppu Kavuni is generally cultivated during the samba season (September-January). However, many farmers, lately, have been cultivating it during summer, likely due to its high price compared to conventional varieties. It has resulted in a severe drop in demand and a significant loss to both farmers and rice mill owners.
Requesting anonymity, a senior official from the Department of Agricultural Marketing & Agri Business in Madurai said that paddy from Madurai, Virudhunagar and nearby districts is sold through the Thirumangalam Regulated Market via farmgate digital platforms. At present, about 1,600 bags (each weighing 66 kg) of old stock and 200 bags of new stock of Karuppu Kavuni paddy are kept for sale at the market, the official said.
“Due to this, the wholesale prices in the open market have dropped below Rs 35 per kg. With an issue in finding traders to sell the available stock, hundreds of bags of paddy remain as dead stock,” added the senior official.
MSK Bakkiyanathan, a farmers’ representative, urged the state government to procure the Karuppu Kavuni paddy similar to that of the conventional varieties, as many farmers are struggling to sell their harvest due to the lack of demand in the market.
S Parthiban, a rice mill operator from Tiruchy, said, “Due to off-season cultivation, the harvested paddy largely did not possess its iconic colour and quality. Thus, the interest among rice mill owners to purchase the paddy has gone down for now. Though we purchased the paddy at a high price, we are now forced to sell the processed rice at a lower price,” and requested the state government to regulate the off-season cultivation of the paddy variety.