Paddy arrivals dropped marginally at the Karnal Grain Market Terminal on Friday. A big share of the total yield of PR varieties have reached the market and arrivals of Sharbati from Uttar Pradesh and aromatic varieties, except Pusa 1121, are yet to commence, said Mr Tara Chand Sharma, proprietor of Tara Chand and Sons.

Paddy of Pusa-1121 is fetching just around Rs 1,750-1,950 a quintal against the levels of Rs 2,400 a quintal of same corresponding period last year, he added. Traders expect paddy prices may drop further.

In the rice market, the trade witnessed a downtrend on Friday as aromatic rice and non-basmati varieties dropped by Rs 200-250 a quintal on low buying. Mr Amit Chandna, Proprietor of Hanuman Rice Trading Company, told Business Line that market sentiments are low with volatility a fear of drop in price in near future. The market may continue to witness the downtrend in the coming days, he added.

Pusa-1121 (steam) eased by Rs 50 and quoted at Rs 4,900 a quintal while Pusa-1121(sela) was ruling between Rs 3,950-3,980, Rs 20 down from the previous level.

After witnessing a decline earlier this week, pure basmati prices remained almost unchanged. Basmati (Raw) sold at Rs 5,500 a quintal while Basmati Sela sold at Rs 3,800 a quintal. Duplicate basmati witnessed the major fall, dropped by Rs 250 and sold at Rs3,150 a quintal.

Sharbati (steam) went down by Rs 50 and ruled at Rs 2,900-3,000 while the Sharbati (Sela) was at Rs 2,800 a quintal, Rs100 down from previous level.

PR11 (Sela) decreased by Rs 40 and sold at Rs 2,100-2,200 a quintal, while PR-11(Raw) decreased by Rs 100 and quoted at Rs 1,900-2,100 a quintal. PR Silky was at Rs 2,250-2,300 a quintal. Permal (Sela) dropped by Rs 25 and sold at Rs 1,825-1,970 a quintal, Permal (steam) was at 2,050 a quintal while Permal (Raw) was at Rs 1,825-1,920 a quintal.

Paddy Arrivals

Around 1.40 lakh bags of different paddy varieties arrived. PR arrived with a stock of around 1.10 lakh bags and sold at Rs 1,100-1,180. Around 7,000 bags of Sugandha-999 arrived and were lifted at around Rs 1,450-1,550 a quintal. About 10,000 bags of Sharbati variety arrived and quoted at Rs 1,450-1,525, DB arrived with a stock of around 5,000 bags and sold at Rs1,650-1,725. Around 7,000 bags of Pusa1121 arrived and 1,750-1,950 a quintal. The entire stock was lifted by government agencies and rice mills.

Purchase price

The Government is likely to increase the purchase price of paddy for the current Kharif season, said food ministry. According to the reports, Ministry has agreed to give a bonus to the farmers for the purchase of paddy and a decision will be arrived at soon.