Rice at ₹85 a kg: Telangana warns traders against artificial shortage as prices bite

Rice prices in Hyderabad and other urban areas of Telangana have risen sharply, with some varieties now selling at ₹80–₹85 a kilogram, up from around ₹45. The increase has prompted the State Civil Supplies department to caution wholesalers and retailers against creating an artificial scarcity of the grain.

Chief Rationing Officer G.V. Shyam Prasad Lal said action would be taken as per law against illegal business practices. His warning came amid complaints from consumers about the steep rise in the retail price of rice, a staple for most households in the State.

Residents from poorer backgrounds said the higher prices had pushed up their monthly grocery budget and added to their financial burden. Some said they feared the price could touch ₹100 a kilogram if the trend continued. For households that buy rice in bulk every month, even a modest increase per kilogram translates into a significant addition to overall food expenditure.

On Tuesday, the Chief Rationing Officer held a meeting with wholesalers and retailers to review available rice stocks, prevailing prices and related issues. The meeting was attended by Hyderabad District Civil Supplies Officer K. Srinivas. In Medchal, a similar review was conducted by District Civil Supplies Officer M. Srinivas Reddy.

Traders have been directed to display boards at their outlets listing the variety of rice on sale, the stock available and the price per kilogram. These details must be updated regularly so that customers can see what they are paying for and how much stock is on hand. Officials are to be alerted if there are gaps in supply, the Chief Rationing Officer said.

The department said it would monitor stocks and prices on an ongoing basis. The instruction to display stock and price details is intended to bring transparency to retail sales and to help officials detect unusual movements in availability or pricing. Officials did not specify at the meeting what had caused the current spike in prices.

The development comes amid broader concern about food inflation, which weighs most heavily on low-income households that spend a large share of their earnings on staples. Rice is the main cereal in the daily diet of most families in Telangana, and any sustained increase in its price is felt quickly in household budgets, particularly among daily-wage workers and families with fixed incomes.

Telangana is among the country's major rice-producing States, and the Civil Supplies department administers procurement and distribution systems, including the public distribution network. Department officials have in the past been tasked with keeping watch on retail prices and supply chains to ensure that essential commodities remain available at reasonable rates.

The warning to traders is the latest in a series of measures by the department to keep the retail market under observation. Wholesalers and retailers have been put on notice that any practice that restricts supply to push up prices will attract legal action.

Consumers in the city said they were watching the situation closely, with many hoping the prices would stabilise in the coming weeks. The department's monitoring, officials indicated, will continue in the days ahead, with district-level officers tasked with keeping a check on stocks and reporting any shortfall in supply.