Prices of non-basmati paddy fall up to 40% in Punjab, Haryana

CHANDIGARH: Prices of non-basmati paddy varieties have dipped by 30 to 40 per cent in Punjab and Haryana during this marketing season due to a ban on exports of the commodity, say traders.

With the arrival of the harvesting season, farmers are forced to sell their non-basmati varieties at much lower rates against the previous season's rates, traders said.

At present, prices of super varieties of paddy, which fall under non-basmati category, range between Rs 1,050-1,200 per quintal, against last year's prices of Rs 1,800-2,000 per quintal, traders said.

Price of Sharbati variety, which fetched Rs 1,700-1,800 per quintal last year, is now hovering around Rs 1,200 per quintal. Similarly, the price of Sugandha variety stands at Rs 1,400 per quintal, against Rs 1,800-2,000 per quintal last year.

Other non-basmati and long-grain varieties such as PR 111 and PR 114 are also being sold lower than the MSP of the paddy which last year was sold over Rs 1,100-1,200 per quintal.

"Prices of non-basmati varieties have dipped just because of the wrong policies of the Centre," Punjab Rice Exporters Association President Rajiv Setia said. Centre had banned the export of non-basmati rice in April this year to control the rising inflation.