Price of biriyani fave seeraga samba spikes
Price of seeraga samba rice, widely used for biriyani in Tamil Nadu, has more than doubled over the last few months after the central government lifted the ban on non-basmati rice exports. At the same time, many households have started switching over to the much cheaper basmati rice for making their favourite delicacy
Paddy field
COIMBATORE: The price of seeraga samba rice, widely used for biriyani in Tamil Nadu, has more than doubled over the last few months after the central government lifted the ban on non-basmati rice exports, coupled with a drastic drop in its cultivation.
Such a price rise is also attributed to farmers shunning its cultivation due to multiple factors like low yield, high labour, longer crop duration, and a heavy drop in its prices.
“Unlike other rice varieties, the price of seeraga samba remained stagnant for several years, forcing farmers to shun its cultivation and move over to other paddy crops. For a long time, the price of seeraga samba hovered between Rs 70 to Rs 85. Thereby, the farmers switched over to other crops out of desperation,” said Mohammed Iqbal, a wholesale distributor of seeraga samba rice in Tirupur.
The price of seeraga samba began to skyrocket since December last year, when the already declining yield was hit further due to unseasonal rains. The lifting of the ban on the export of rice led to further escalation of its prices, say traders.
Perhaps, in a solace, the price of seeraga samba is likely to come down gradually in the coming days due to an increase in cultivation area.
“From the wholesale rate of Rs 220 per kg and above, its prices have come down to Rs 160 now, but the price drop is yet to reflect in the retail market, where prices continue to be over Rs 200 per kg. More farmers have taken up cultivation once again in view of better prices,” added Iqbal.
In Tamil Nadu, seeraga samba is mainly cultivated in Thuraiyur and in certain pockets, only in minimal volumes.
“Its arrivals are from West Bengal, where the produce is of superior quality, as well as from Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh,” said R Manish, a rice trader from Coimbatore.
Over the years, farmers preferred a regular variety of paddy over seeraga samba as it is a seven-month crop, while others are short-term crops.
“Considering the time involved in harvesting seeraga samba, other regular varieties, which are of duration of three months, could be harvested twice,” said KCM Duraisamy, state vice president of the Federation of Rice Mill Owners, Paddy, and Rice Dealers Association.
With the steady rise in price of seeraga samba, many households have switched over to basmati rice, whose prices continue to be low in Tamil Nadu.