Rice Millers Advocate for Inclusion of Parboiled Rice in Rabi Season to Benefit Ryots

Rice millers in Telangana, involved in the custom milling of paddy for the Food Corporation of India (FCI), have urged the central government to permit the supply of boiled rice during the Rabi season. Their request is aimed at ensuring the welfare of farmers in the region.

Representatives of rice millers expressed their worries over the central government's decision to reject parboiled rice for the Rabi season during a meeting on May 25 with Minister for Civil Supplies G. Kamalakar and officials from the State Civil Supplies Corporation. According to them, this decision has resulted in considerable losses for millers, who are now forced to supply uncooked rice. They went on to say that meeting even half of the required raw rice quantity for the Rabi season is unlikely.

In response, Minister Kamalakar urged the millers to collaborate with the state government and fulfill their obligation to supply custom-milled rice within the stipulated deadline. He assured them that the state government would reach a mutually agreeable decision regarding the percentage of broken rice in the Rabi crop milling.

The minister emphasized the importance of not causing any difficulties for the farmers and made it clear that the government would not tolerate any reduction in the weight of paddy with fair average quality. He also emphasized the need to promptly unload paddy brought to the mills. The final decision on the percentage of broken rice in the Rabi crop milling will be made after considering an interim report from an expert committee, which will bring the matter to the attention of the Chief Minister.

The representatives of the millers appealed to the central government to reconsider its decision to reject parboiled rice during the Rabi season. They highlighted the challenges faced by the milling industry due to this decision. They explained that high temperatures during the Rabi season cause the paddy grain to break even during its formation stage, which makes parboiled rice more suitable. They believe that the central government's decision did not take this crucial factor into account.

Furthermore, the millers expressed their concern about being portrayed as adversaries of the farmers, despite playing a pivotal role in ensuring that the paddy produced by farmers reaches consumers as a finished product. They reiterated their commitment to not reducing the weight of paddy with fair average quality. They also mentioned that the untimely rains experienced this season have caused the paddy to become discolored, resulting in an out-turn of raw rice that is less than 50%.

The meeting was attended by Commissioner of Civil Supplies V. Anil Kumar, General Manager of TSCS Srinivas Rao, President of the Rice Millers Association Gampa Nagender, General Secretary A. Sudhakar Rao, Working President B. Prabhakar Rao, Treasurer Chandrapal, and the district president of the association.