Sluggish domestic demand pulled the prices of aromatic and non-basmati rice down by Rs 20-50 a quintal on Wednesday. An imbalance in the demand and supply equation was the prime reason behind the fall, said Mr Amit Chandna, a rice trader.

Rice millers are offloading their stocks in the absence of export demand. But there is not much demand in the domestic market at present. This situation is leading the market down, he added.

With not much trading in the market, the prices of aromatic rice dropped by Rs 20-50 a quintal, while the prices of non-basmati rice dropped by Rs 20-30 a quintal. The prices of broken varieties of both aromatic and non-basmati ruled firm.

The Pusa-1121 steam ruled at Rs 5,200-5,350 a quintal, Pusa-1121 at Rs 4,250-4,360, and Pusa-1121 at Rs 5,150-5,200.

Basmati sela quoted at Rs 6,200-6,250 and basmati raw at Rs 7,300-7,370. Duplicate basmati ruled at around Rs 3,960 a quintal.

The price of brokens of 1121 variety were: Tibar, Rs 3,000-3,400; Dubar, Rs 2,200-2,500; and Mongra, Rs 1,800-2,000.

Sharbati sela sold at around Rs 2,680, Sharbati steam Rs 3,000-3,070, Permal sela Rs 1,900-2,030 and Permal steam Rs 2,100-2,180 a quintal. For the brokens of Sharbati variety, Tibar quoted at Rs 2,500, Dubar at 2,050 and Mongra, Rs 1,450.

PADDY TRADING

Arrivals of paddy have dropped on account of the uncertain weather conditions. Around 500 bags of PR sold at Rs 1,000 a quintal. Around 600 bags of Pusa (duplicate basmati) at Rs 2,000-2,020, around 1,000 bags of Pusa-1121 at Rs 2,000-2,350, and about 500 bags of pure basmati at Rs 2,200-2,600 a quintal.

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