Bengal rice prices gain steam on Bangladesh demand
Rice costs in West Bengal, which went on a downward spiral because of to no cost distribution of foodgrain by the govt, is firming up on the back again of a surge in desire from Bangladesh.
A person of the major good reasons is that during April-May this fiscal Bangladesh imported 46 for each cent of non-Basmati rice that it acquired for the complete of last fiscal from India. For the duration of April-May this calendar year, Bangladesh purchased four.28 lakh tonnes of rice from India at a value of ₹1,163.twenty crore. For the duration of the last fiscal, Dhaka imported nine.11 lakh tonnes of non-basmati rice really worth ₹2,552.54 crore as opposed with a meagre 13,083 tonnes valued at ₹85.72 crore during 2019-twenty. In December last calendar year, Bangladesh minimized duty and other govt charges on import of non-basmati rice to 25 for each cent from sixty two.five for each cent.
Cost of the prevalent assortment non-basmati rice in the Condition was down by about eight for each cent at ₹2,two hundred-two,250 a quintal in July versus ₹2,400-two,five hundred in the corresponding period of time last calendar year.
Costs up in Bengal
Responsibility reduction, about a few-to-4 times back again, has previously pushed up rice costs in the Condition.
Cost of the prevalent assortment non-basmati rice has inched up by about ₹200 a quintal, to ₹2,400 as opposed with ₹2,two hundred about a thirty day period in the past.
The much better good quality miniket parboiled rice (commonly shipped to Bangladesh) has elevated by ₹300 for each quintal to ₹2,900 in excess of the last 7 days.
“West Bengal rice marketplace is dominated by non-basmati parboiled rice, and transportation value is the very least from West Bengal to Bangladesh as opposed to any other Condition in India. So, the vast majority of export of non-basmati rice in Bangladesh occurs from West Bengal. Thinking about this, costs of non-basmati variants are bound to raise further more in the Condition for retail people as perfectly,” reported Suraj Agarwal, CEO, Tirupati Agri Trade.
The Bangladesh govt recently floated a tender to obtain fifty,000 tonnes of non-basmati rice from India. A significant chunk of the rice exported to the neighbouring state commonly goes from West Bengal and the vast majority of the export occurs between September and February.
Breather for growers
Generation of kharif paddy, the standard crop of West Bengal, is anticipated to be bigger this calendar year backed by favourable weather conditions and suitable rains.
The Condition creates near to ten.five-11 million tonnes of paddy during the kharif season accounting for practically 70 for each cent of the whole output which is believed to be near to 15-sixteen million tonnes a calendar year and practically fourteen for each cent of the country’s whole output.
As for each formal estimates, West Bengal has five.eight million hectares beneath rice cultivation. Even though formal estimates are not available, the Condition is very likely to sign-up a bigger crop this calendar year. Harvesting of paddy is anticipated to start by mid-October.
Despite the fact that the rate of paddy has been regular at last year’s ₹1,five hundred-one,700 a quintal so much this calendar year, the firming up of rice costs could thrust up paddy costs too, marketplace resources say.
The reduction of import duty also comes as a breather for rice millers working in parboiled assortment below. The millers experienced been strike because of to weak desire in the domestic marketplace on the back again of big availability of PDS rice.