Farmers affiliated to the Tamilnadu Toddy Movement have urged the government to allow export of rice. C. Nallasami said the prices of coarse and fine varieties of paddy in the open market had come down. To compound the problem the State Government had stopped procurement.
Last year the prices were around 1,200 a quintal in the open market. This year it was between Rs. 800 and Rs. 850. While the government procurement rate stood at Rs. 1,100 a quintal for the fine variety and Rs. 1,050 for coarse variety for the current year, farmers could not benefit since procurement had been stopeed.
The current situation would prompt farmers in rice-cultivating districts to leave their lands fallow in the ensuing cultivation season, he pointed out. He said that the Union Government must come forward to allow export of rice
