WARANGAL: Unprecedented demand from private traders for fine-quality paddy has pushed prices to a record Rs 5,000 per quintal in the erstwhile Warangal district, up from Rs 4,000 for one-year-old produce.
Traders are offering prices well above the prevailing market rate and are even willing to buy freshly harvested paddy with moisture content of up to 20%, despite the government procurement limit of 14%.
The unusual demand comes amid a shortfall in paddy cultivation attributed to the El Nino effect. Traders are buying and storing the produce in anticipation of demand in the next season, driving up prices of the fine variety.
The Minimum Support Price for paddy from the current season is at Rs 2,400 per quintal, with a bonus of Rs 500 from the Telangana government taking the total to Rs 2,900.
Private traders, however, are offering around Rs 3,700 per quintal for fine-variety paddy, including produce that would not meet the government’s moisture requirements.
While government procurement centres accept paddy with moisture content of up to 14%, private traders are purchasing produce with moisture levels of up to 20%.
Traders offer Rs 800 extra per quintal over support price
Private traders are offering farmers an additional Rs p800 per quintal over the government procurement price, even for wet paddy, as they seek to secure stocks for the next season.
Farmers have begun harvesting their crops, and many are planning to store part of their produce. However, the higher prices offered by private traders are prompting them to consider selling, even as they seek to retain stocks for their own needs and for the next season.
T Ravinder, a farmer from Peddapendiyala village in Hanamkonda district, said private traders were approaching farmers and offering higher prices for freshly harvested paddy.
He said farmers needed money for household expenses but were reluctant to sell their entire produce, as they also wanted to preserve some of it for the next season.
He alleged that traders had artificially created demand and pushed up paddy prices, benefiting from the sale of fine rice at Rs 8,000 per quintal.
N Mallesh, a resident of Ram Nagar in Hanamkonda city, said fine rice had become unaffordable, with the price of a kilogram rising from Rs 60 to Rs 95.
He alleged that traders had artificially created a scarcity ahead of the season, prompting below poverty line (BPL) families to turn to ration shops.
The government supplies free fine rice to BPL families and daily-wage earners. Mallesh urged the government to prevent the artificial withholding of fine rice and bring prices down to affordable levels.
