We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry.
We focus on grains and food industry. current time
Rice is getting pricier, and the reasons go beyond a weak monsoon
Rice prices in India’s domestic market, especially non-basmati varieties, have climbed more than 10 percent over the past few weeks, with traders pointing to a widening gap between supply and demand alongside growing worry over a patchy monsoon.
Part of the pressure traces back to the government’s recent move to raise the minimum support price for common paddy to ₹2,441 a quintal for the 2026-27 crop year, up from ₹2,369 previously a shift that industry voices say has fed directly into the retail uptrend.
The squeeze is sharpest in premium varieties like Sona Masuri, Ponni and Masuri, but it hasn’t stayed contained there. Even broken rice, typically the cheapest end of the market, is feeling the pinch. Millers are flagging a modest paddy shortage, and while prices appear to have levelled off for the moment, trade groups note that this seasonal uptick is running well above what’s normally seen at this time of year.
The puzzle, as some market watchers point out, is that this is happening even as the government reports record rice production for the year raising questions about whether the official numbers are telling the full story, particularly around actual stock levels and harvest data. That mismatch, some fear, could eventually feed into broader inflation concerns the Reserve Bank has already flagged.
On the ground, the numbers tell their own story. Quality aged white rice is now fetching close to ₹1,900 for a 26-kg bag, against ₹1,600 for the fresh harvest, while rates for the Swarna variety out of West Bengal have jumped to around ₹34 a kg ex-mill, up from ₹30 just weeks ago. Paddy costs have pushed rice prices up by at least ₹10 a kilo.
A deficient monsoon running 11 percent below normal as of early August hasn’t helped, and neither has a smaller area under maize, which is nudging up rice demand for ethanol production. Adding to the squeeze, the seasonal window between crop cycles means fresh supply won’t arrive until after October, once kharif harvests begin coming in.
Some in the trade are hoping relief comes through the government’s open market sale scheme, though so far interest has been muted largely because the rice on offer is seen as only just meeting minimum quality standards. Meanwhile, a long-pending government committee tasked with studying consumer preferences for rice varieties has yet to submit its findings, a delay that’s starting to draw pointed questions from within the industry itself.
