More Stories

Informist, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024

By J. Navya Sruthi

MUMBAI – Prices of maize, rice, and wheat were steady Thursday in key markets across the country, traders said. Maize prices are expected to fall next week, as traders see supply increasing in Karnataka as the rains stop. 

Prices of MAIZE were steady in Karnataka's Davanagere as a slight increase in arrivals from 1,500 bags (1 bag = 60 kg) to 3,000 bags was offset by a high moisture content in the grain. Prices of maize were unchanged at INR 1,600-2,200 per 100 kg, Shiva Kumar, a local trader, said. 

Maize prices are likely to fall next week as arrivals may increase, Kumar said. "Arrivals rose slightly as it has stopped raining here," he said. However, 10-15% of the crop has been damaged due to the recent heavy rains in Karnataka, he said. Heavy rains have led to fungus formation on the grain, which will weigh on prices, he said.

Prices of WHEAT in Mumbai's Vashi market were unchanged at INR 3,100 per 100 kg, said Devendra Vora, a wholesale trader. Wheat prices are likely to remain at the current levels till Diwali, traders said. However, a fall in arrivals in local markets and an increase in demand due to the marriage season after Diwali will likely boost prices, Vora said. Vora expects prices to stay high till the new crop arrivals start after March.

Prices of RICE were steady in the Vashi market at INR 6,000-6,200 per 100 kg, Vora said. Basmati rice prices were also steady at INR 7,300-7,800 per 100 kg, he said. Prices of Sona Masoori rice, a non-basmati premium variety, were steady at INR 6,400 per 100 kg in Vijayawada's Bhavanipuram in Andhra Pradesh, Ravi Shankar, a local trader, said.   

Vora expects that India might have record rice exports during 2024-25 (Apr-Mar) as the government has removed restrictions on most rice varieties. Currently, only non-basmati broken rice exports are banned. Last week, the International Grains Council increased its forecast for Indian rice exports to 20.8 million tonnes from 17.3 million tonnes a month ago owing to looser restrictions on rice exports. 

A day after removing the 10% export duty on parboiled rice, the government on Wednesday removed the minimum export price of $490 per tonne on non-basmati white rice with immediate effect. This was imposed by the government in September and till then exports of non-basmati white rice were banned. The decision has been taken keeping in mind the fact that domestic stocks were at an all-time high of over 31 million tonnes as of Oct. 1.

However, traders expect rice prices to remain range-bound with a slight positive bias as higher-than-normal rice production is expected during the kharif season 2024-25. This was mainly due to above-normal rainfall during the Southwest Monsoon. Paddy acreage this season has risen 2.2% on year, to 41.4 million hectares. End

Edited by Vidhi Verma

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000 /+91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2024. All rights reserved.