Aurangabad, Jan 12:
China's reduction in imports of rice has affected the Indian market and in the last two days, prices of rice have fallen by Rs 200 to Rs 300 per quintal in city markets. The citizens were relieved as rice was sold at higher prices in the past few months.
The arrival of new rice starts after Diwali. Initially, higher inflow leads to a drop in prices. Therefore, those who buy grains annually buy rice from December to February. However, this year, rising prices of rice had worried the citizens. But last week the price of rice fell by Rs 200 to Rs 300 per quintal. Rice is being sold at Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,300 per quintal, while basmati rice is being sold at Rs 3,200 to Rs 7,800 per quintal in the city.
As compared to last year, the prices of normal rice were up by Rs 400 to Rs 800 per quintal and basmati rice at Rs 300 to Rs 1,000 per quintal. Giving more information, rice wholesaler Nilesh Somani said that India exports non-basmati rice mainly to Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Senegal, while it exports basmati rice to Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Rice production in Thailand, a major rice-producing country, had declined last year due to drought.
Production declined in Vietnam. As a result, China started buying rice from India, pushing up rice prices in the country. As a result, compared to the export of 99 lakh tonnes of rice in the country in the financial year 2019, it is expected to reach 104 crores in the financial year 2020 to 2021. Now China has stopped the import, hence the prices have fallen by Rs 200- 300.