Thrissur: The price of rice has skyrocketed recently along with other esstial items. The prices of all rice variants except ‘Palakkad Matta’ have steadily increased. ‘Vadi-matta’, a rice brand from Karnataka, has also witnessed a steep rise as its price jumpred from Rs 33 to Rs 48 per kilogram.

Meanwhile, the rate of popular rice brands like Jaya, Ponni, Kuruva and Ponni arriving from outside the state have gone up by Rs 3 per kilogram in less than two weeks. It is assumed that there will be intense price hike and scarcity by February if the situation continues to persist. 

Heavy rains in southern parts of India have affected productivity and hence resulted in price hike. Millions of hectares of paddy fields in South India were destroyed. In addition to the decline in production, rice wholesale merchants attributed the rise in fuel prices as another reason for the soaring price.

Currently, Kerala sells 3.3 lakh tonnes of rice every month. Of this, 1.83 lakh tonnes is white rice and 1.5 lakh tonnes is Matta rice. The state has to spend about Rs 100 crore extra on a month basis.

As rice production in Kerala is low, the state is forced to rely on other states for rice procurements. Even the vast majority of rice produced in Kerala is used in the Public Distribution Centers through Supplyco.

Interestingly, it was reported that the state is not able to produce even one-third of the required quantity. Last year, the state's rice production was 6.05 lakh tonnes and 6.71 lakh tonnes is expected this year. This is according to data conceived by the Agriculture Department. As per this data, the rice produced in the state is sufficient to meet the requirement for two months only.