Permission to sell Sella rice in South India under Bharat Brand Rice

06-Jun-2024 02:32 PM

New Delhi. With the aim of increasing the sale of highly subsidized Bharat Rice, the Union Food Ministry has asked agencies like NAFED, National Cooperative Consumer Federation (NCCF) and Central Stores as well as other related parties to start selling Sella rice in the southern states, while till now raw (white) rice is being sold in the entire country.

According to official sources, under the Bharat Brand Rice Sale Scheme, the government has so far supplied more than 10 lakh tons of general category rice, which is much less than its estimated quantity.

Its sale is reported to be going on normally. According to officials, the stock of Sella rice available with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will be sold in the states of South India under the Bharat Rice Sale Scheme so that the rise in its prices can be curbed. At present, the Food Corporation has made available a stock of 1.30 lakh tons of Sella rice for retail sale.

According to official sources, Food Corporation of India has so far received purchase indents for 15 lakh tonnes of rice from agencies like NAFED, NCCF and Central Stores for the sale of Bharat Brand Rice, out of which 10 lakh tonnes have been sold by these agencies.

The price of this rice has been fixed at Rs 29 per kg, which is being sold through the retail marketing centers (retail outlets) of the agencies.

It is worth noting that this scheme was started in February 2024 and under this, raw rice is being made available to the general consumers in packs of 5 kg and 10 kg at a very subsidized price.

Its objective is to control prices by increasing the supply and availability of rice. In April, the retail price of rice increased by 12.51 percent, but it is likely to soften a bit in the next few months. It is worth noting that since October 2022, the inflation rate in rice has been running in double digits (more than 10 percent).