Fine rice prices soar in Telangana

Prices of fine rice varieties are shooting through the roof, touching an average of Rs.6,000 per quintal after a hike of about Rs.1,000 per quintal.

Nalgonda: Prices of fine rice varieties are shooting through the roof, touching an average of Rs.6,000 per quintal after a hike of about Rs.1,000 per quintal.

The budgets of a majority of the people, who use Sona Masoori rice, have been hit, with the prices of the variety rising to Rs.6,000 from Rs.5,000 per quintal. The price of other fine rice varieties too has gone up to Rs.6,500 per quintal in the market.

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The dip in the cultivation area of paddy of fine rice varieties is said to have triggered the hike of the prices in the market. The farmers are not showing interest to take up cultivation of paddy of fine rice varieties due to requirements for high investment and irrigation facilities.

The normal area of cultivation of paddy was 3,51,000 acres in Suryapet district, 4,40,000 acres in Nalgonda district and 1,59,719 acres in Yadadri-Bhongir district. However, with a crop holiday being declared after a gap of nearly 10 years under the left canal of Nagarjuna Sagar Project (NSP) and depletion of groundwater levels, the cultivation of paddy in erstwhile Nalgonda district has decreased by almost 50 percent.

So far, the farmers taken up cultivation of paddy in 6,03,730 acres in the erstwhile district, which would make up only 59.3 percent of the usual cultivation area. This gap is likely to lead to a further increase in the prices of fine rice in the market in the next five or six months.

A regular buyer of fine rice, M Saidaiah, said the hike in prices of fine rice had become a financial burden on middle class families. It was not possible to avoid or reduce the consumption of rice. His family, which had six members, was spending nearly Rs.3,000 or more per month for rice alone. It had almost doubled the “kitchen” expenditure of the family, he said.

“If we purchase the rice loose, i.e, in 5 kg or similar packets, the price will be Rs.3 to Rs.5 more per kg,” he added.

R Srinivasulu of Venkateshwara Rice Shop said the prices were due to multiple reasons, including decrease in rice production and also because millers were exporting rice to other States. However, the price hike did not have an impact on the sale of rice since it was an unavoidable essential commodity, he said.