UP's Basmati rice producers worried due to decrease in productivity and price

08-Aug-2024 01:15 PM

Aligarh. In Uttar Pradesh (UP), preparation for harvesting of early cultivated crop of Pusa 1509 Basmati rice has started but compared to last year,

this time the average yield rate of Basmati rice has decreased by 15-20 percent and the market price is low, due to which the farmers are worried and disappointed.

In the markets of Shamli and Aligarh district, the price of this Basmati rice is running between Rs 2100 to Rs 2500 per quintal, which was Rs 2800-3000 per quintal last year.

Its demand is also seen to be weak in the markets. A commission agent of Khair Mandi of Aligarh district says that usually the average moisture content in Basmati rice should be around 15 percent, but this time more than 20 percent is being seen.

Due to this, millers, traders and exporters are showing less interest in its purchase and are not ready to pay more than Rs 2500 per quintal.

It is noteworthy that some farmers of Shamli district tried to sell their Basmati rice in the market of Karnal in Haryana, but even there its price could reach only Rs 2400 per quintal.

The Commission Agents Association says that rice millers are showing a lot of caution in purchasing this Basmati rice because it had suffered a lot of loss due to the purchase made at a high price last year.

This time the supply of rice in the markets is also increasing because the farmers, encouraged by the high price of last year, had increased the area of ​​​​Basmati rice.

Some critics say that the price of Basmati rice has softened in the international market and the exporters are urging the government to reduce its minimum export price from the current level of $ 950 per ton to $ 800-850 per ton. In such a situation,

they are not ready to buy Basmati rice at higher prices - especially that category of rice which has more than 20 per cent moisture content.