Retail rice prices increased after wheat, know why?

New Delhi: People are being hit hard. Now people’s rice dishes will be expensive. After wheat, the price of rice is going to increase due to supply-related concerns. As compared to the same period last year, India’s average retail price of rice increased by 6.31 percent to Rs 37.70 per kg.

The determination of rice prices continues to depend on the harvest of the Kharif season. Crop failure due to irregular monsoons has led to price hikes. By the end of last week, 8.25 percent of grain has been reduced. Therefore, due to the news of a possible reduction in rice production in the country, the price of rice has increased. Experts have expressed doubts about achieving the rice production target of 11.2 million tons as per the 2022-23 Kharif harvest. Therefore, the price has increased due to the risk of producing rice less than the prescribed lakh.

According to the data of the Union Ministry of Agriculture, paddy has been sown on 343.7 million hectares of land as of August 18, which was cultivated in 374.63 lakh hectares by this time last year. It has been reported that due to the decrease in monsoon rains, less land has been cultivated in rice-growing states including Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana. Paddy is the main Kharif crop in the country, which starts sowing in June with the arrival of the southwest monsoon. 80 percent of the country’s rice is grown in Kharif.

However, it has been said that the increase in the retail price of rice in the country is not the same as that of wheat because the central government has huge reserves of rice. 396 lakh tonnes of rice can be utilized under this stock situation. In case of a price rise, the government can take the rice out of storage to control it.