TIRUCHY: After several years, paddy farmers in Tamil Nadu are getting a good price as demand for fine varieties has revived in the market after the Covid slump and arrivals from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have also dipped. If the trend persists, the retail price of rice may go up by Rs 10 kg in the next few months, sources said.
Rice mills that had huge quantities of paddy due to a fall in demand during the Covid-19 lockdown have exhausted their stocks aftermarket revival and paddy arrivals from other states too are not enough to meet the demand, sources said.
A senior agriculture department official said, “Private buyers are offering good prices for paddy. There is a significant dip in the arrival of Andhra variety BPT 5204 and Telangana variety RNR and there is an increase in demand for fine paddy varieties from local farmers. As procurement price of paddy by mills spiked compared to previous years, retail price of popular rice varieties may go up from Rs 50 per kg to Rs 60 per kg this year.”
“This year, I sold each paddy bag (63 kg per bag) for Rs 1,400 to traders. The price was at least Rs 300 more per bag compared to previous years. But the major problem with private buyers are delay in payment and unscientific weighing practices,” said A Vetrivel, a Lalgudi-based farmer. “Paddy varieties from AP and Telangana capture the market because of their lower price. There is a shortage in the market now but in the second season of cultivation, the scenario can change,” he said.
N Rajendran of the farmers’ front of Tamil Manila Congress said “Bold varieties are predominantly cultivated for DPCs. People use fine varieties of rice for meals. Normally, by now, fine varieties from AP and Telangana would have come to our rice mills but the quantity of paddy we received so far this year is significantly lower than in other years. This has created a demand in the market for fine varieties. Tiruchy farmers who have gone for Andhra BPT and Amman Ponni varieties are getting Rs 1,400 for each bag.”
R A Raguraman, a rice mill owner, said, “Paddy yield was good this year in Tiruchy. Pest attack was limited. This could be a record year in terms of price for fine variety of paddy. In 2022, we saw demand for fine varieties peaking and mill owners and traders used the chance to exhaust their stocks. Prices even went up to Rs 1,800 per bag. Expecting good demand this year, mill owners and traders are piling up on paddy stocks.”