The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Heavy arrivals arrest rising rice price

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 28, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Heavy arrivals arrest rising rice price

By S. Vydhianathan

CHENNAI, NOV. 27. Heavy arrivals from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have stabilised rice price in the open market. It witnessed a rising trend a few weeks ago.

On an average, 250 lorryloads of rice and paddy from the neighbouring States arrive in the city and an equal number in the western districts.

A bumper harvest, both in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, is the main reason for the flooding of rice and paddy stocks here. Arrivals from the neighbouring districts of Chennai have also been heavy for the past one week. Hence the price stabilisation after a marked rise during the first fortnight of November.

Other than for brand varieties, the price rules between Rs. 10 and Rs. 15 a kg depending on quality. Mother India, Grain World and Gitanjali are being quoted at Rs. 17 in the wholesale market and at Rs. 19-20 in retail.

Traders said the price had risen by Rs. 2 a kg during the first week of this month due to poor arrivals. But it began to ease from the second fortnight as freshly harvested stocks started arriving in the market.

Swarna (new) was being quoted at Rs. 11 in the wholesale market and Andhra Ponni (seasoned) at between Rs. 15 and 16. Common rice is available at Rs. 10.50.

A leading wholesale merchant here, Amara Visweswara Rao, said normally during this period there would be heavy arrivals from Andhra Pradesh. But this time Karnataka millers and traders were also pumping in heavy stocks. About 75 lorryloads of freshly harvested paddy were arriving at the market here everyday from Karnataka. Steam silk of Karnataka had good market here, as the price and quality were good.

Another wholesale trader, D. Thulasingam, said there was a drop every day in the price by 50 paise a kg. Andhra millers were ready to supply rice on credit, as their godowns were full. Apart from these two States, stocks were arriving from the neighbouring districts of Chennai, thanks to a good harvest.

The traders said the poor procurement at the direct purchase centres of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation in the delta districts was due to heavy offtake of paddy by wholesale merchants from farmers. They said the situation would ease further and the price coming down in the coming weeks was not ruled out.

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