Rice Prices- In this year, rice prices likely to rise.

Hyderabad: Though new rice crop has arrived in city markets, there appears to be the price of fine variety is sold at Rs 40 a kg and last year the same variety was Rs 30 per kg.

This year the demand for rice stocks has seen a new high, particularly from super markets and retailers. There is near panic buying of rice in the backdrop of poor kharif yield, according to the Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy Rice Millers Association leader S Balaiah.

Though at the moment the price of fine variety of rice is around Rs 55 a kg, but when the existing stocks were exhausted in next three months, the new stocks of rice would go up to Rs 70 or more a kg, said Balaiah.

In the last year, newly processed fine rice variety was sold at the rate of Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,400 a quintal and in this year the price went up to Rs 4,000 a quintal. The second grade quality was priced between Rs 3,500 and Rs 3,700 a quintal.

Low paddy production led to the rice prices increasing abnormally. After March, fine quality rice price may touch Rs 8,000 a quintal and the secondary quality grains may witness 30 to 40 percent increase from the present rate, told officials of the State Agriculture Department.

The total area under paddy cultivation was 6.15 lakh hectares only during kharif, which was almost half of the total target of 11.70 lakh hectares, said the officials.

Source:http://www.thehansindia.com/