Rice millers in Kangayam fear that the retail price of rice may touch ₹100 a kg by the end of January, 2027.
Non-availability of paddy and continuous increase in paddy prices are a matter of concern to the millers, said Palaniswamy, president of the Kangayam Rice Millers Association.
The retail price of rice is approximately ₹75 a kg now. It is likely to touch ₹100 a kg by the end of January. Paddy is not available for the mills and almost 50% of the rice mills in Kangayam in Tiruppur district are not operating now. The price of rice for a 26 kg bag has gone up by almost ₹500. However, the market is not ready to absorb this hike, he said.
The price of paddy that was ₹24 a kg in January this year is ₹42 a kg for KNM variety and the cost of Amman Ponni variety was ₹29 a kg in January and ₹46.20 a kg now.
Paddy is not available to millers for credit. Those who are able to pay in cash are visiting the sellers and taking the paddy in bulk. A lot of rice mills are seeing last minute cancellation of paddy supplies, he added.
With reports coming in that farmers have not sown the seed for January harvest due to poor south east monsoon, arrival of paddy in January next year is likely to be delayed. This will only push up the prices as the demand is usually high after mid January, Mr. Palaniswamy said.
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