Nellore: Paddy growers in a fix over low market price

Nellore: Paddy growers in a fix over where to sell their produce because of the tantrums being thrown by rice millers in procuring paddy.

Though the  government had opened around 98 paddy purchase centres (PPCs) across SPSR Nellore district, the procurement is too slow.

The growers want to supply paddy to PPCs that are offering Rs 1,770 per quintal rice of ‘A’ grade with market rate being Rs 1,500.

Market price, which is less than the procurement price, is the main reason for lack of interest being shown by millers to collect the paddy from growers.

The government is treating the widely cultivated ‘Nellore Masoori’ variety as A grade when it is in the shape of paddy. The same, however, becomes ‘B’ grade after converting as rice.

This way, millers tend to  lose `630 per tonne tonnne of paddy after conversion.

Last year, the state government had compensated this loss in Nellore district at the instance of agriculture minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy.

The state also paid `210 as bonus for ‘A’ grade variety of rice to compensate for broken (virugullu in Telugu) paddy, which was rampant in Nellore last year, at the instance of the minister.

There is no such initiative because of election code this time. The only solace for farmers is that the Central government has hiked minimum support price by `200 this time though it is no match to what the state government offered last year.