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Informist, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024

By J. Navya Sruthi

MUMBAI – Prices of maize rose due to firm demand, while those of rice fell due to higher supply of the grain in key markets of the country, traders said. Prices of wheat were steady Friday with a slight downward bias, traders said.  

Prices of MAIZE in Karnataka's Davanagere rose Friday by INR 100-INR 200 to INR 1,800-INR 2,300 per 100 kg despite higher arrivals, Shiva Kumar, a local trader, said. "There is firm demand from stockists, (more) than consumers, we see more stockists in the market," he said.

However, arrivals rose from 5,000 bags to 15,000 bags (1 bag = 60 kg) as the weather was not cloudy, Kumar said. Further, moisture was still higher at 18-20% than the acceptable moisture level of 14%, which has restricted upside in maize prices.   

Meanwhile, the area under maize in Telangana so far has more than doubled, nearly 104% higher on year, to 113,214 acres, from 55,509 acres last year, according to the state acreage report. One acre is around 0.4 hectares. Telangana is one of the top 10 maize growing states in the country.  

Prices of new basmati RICE were steady in Mumbai's Vashi market at INR 6,000-INR 6,400 per 100 kg, Devendra Vora, a wholesale dealer, said. However, prices of sonam rice from Gujarat were down by INR 300-INR 400 to INR 5,600-INR 5,700 per 100 kg as the supply of the new rice crop increased, Vora said. Prices of rice were steady at INR 5,500-INR 6,400 per 100 kg in Bhavanipuram in Andhra Pradesh, said Ravi Shankar, a local trader.

Prices of mill-quality WHEAT in Rajasthan's Kota market were steady with a slight downward bias, at INR 2,800 per 100 kg, Aniket Mehta, a local trader, said. Arrivals were also largely unchanged from the previous day at 4,000 bags (1 bag = 50 kg), he said. 

Meanwhile, the area sown under wheat in Rajasthan so far was 1.48 million hectares, up from 1.12 million hectares a year ago, according to the state acreage report. Rajasthan is one of the top five wheat producing states in the country. 

Prices of the same quality wheat were steady in Vashi market, Maharashtra, at INR 3,300 per 100 kg, Vora said. However, there is some panic in the market about wheat sales by the government under the open market sales scheme and rumours that the government has imported wheat, multiple traders said. This has put pressure on wheat prices in the key domestic markets, traders said. 

Usually, the government starts wheat sales in July or August, but this year, owing to lower procurement and falling stocks, it has delayed open market sales. Under the open market sales scheme, the government fixes the price of rice and wheat and sells them to bulk buyers such as states and private millers through electronic auctions.

The government's weekly e-auctions of rice and wheat are meant to cool down retail prices across the country. With only four months left for the new wheat arrivals to begin, market participants expect that the government may start with the e-auctions anytime soon.  End

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

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