Cheaper rice, atta bring relief amid inflation

Retail prices of staples in Indian households - rice and atta, or wheat flour - have fallen by 7% and 5%, respectively, in the last 10 days, bringing some relief to consumers. While the ban on wheat exports helped cool prices of the grain and atta, arrival of the summer rice crop, which is sown in January-February, has brought down the prices of the commonly consumed non-basmati rice.

In western and eastern India, wheat at the mandi level costs ₹23 a kg, while in northern India, the major producing hub, the price is ₹22. In south India, it costs ₹26 per kg, as the transportation cost is included in the price.

Meanwhile, at the retail level, atta now costs ₹30 per kg in western and eastern India, ₹29 per kg in the north and ₹33 in southern India.


"Prices have fallen by 5% across the entire value chain. Atta price at the retail end has fallen by 5%, too," said Anjani Agarwal, president of Roller Flour Millers' Association.

"Domestic demand is quite good. We do not see any significant drop in prices from this level," said Ashish Khandewal, managing director of BL Agro, a Bareilly-based FMCG and edible oil company.

Rice prices too have started falling as the Aman rice has started arriving in the market. West Bengal, the largest producer of the grain, has witnessed a drop of 7% in prices. Suraj Agarwal, chief executive of Tirupati Agri Trade, said: "In the last ten days, prices have fallen by 7% as new rice has arrived. At the retail level, consumers were buying this rice at ₹41 per kg 10 days ago. But they are now buying at ₹38 per kg."

Prices of rice have also softened in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh where summer rice has arrived. "Prices of rice are unlikely to go up this year as India has ample supply," said Agarwal.

According to the government's second advance estimates, rice production during 2021-22 is a record 127.93 mt.