Dry spell pushes rice and toor dal price to new highs

Representational file image. | Photo Credit: M.A. SRIRAM

Amid a rain deficit of 35% between June and September in Karnataka, the prices of rice and toor dal have increased. The price of rice had already increased twice in two months between August and October.

This has impacted household budgets, while hotels are now weighing their options of increasing their rates.

For instance, the price of the Sona Masuri variety which was ₹75 per kg, has now increased to about ₹80, Basmati has gone up from ₹110 to ₹140 per kg, bullet rice from ₹80 to ₹100, Kolam rice from ₹75 to ₹100, and Rajamudi rice from ₹125 to ₹150, on an average, as per traders The Hindu spoke to.

The price of toor dal varieties have also increased by ₹10 to ₹15 per kg from what it was 10 days ago. The Gulbarga fatkar variety is priced at ₹145 per kg, from ₹125.

According to the Department of Agriculture, the target area for paddy cultivation for the kharif season was 10 lakh hectares while the sown area was only 6.2 lakh hectares. Last kharif season, it was 10.43 lakh hectares. The target area for toor dal this kharif was 16 lakh hectares while the sown area was 13.35 lakh hectares. Last year, the sown area was 14.16 lakh hectares.