Tamil Nadu will sell fine variety rice at ₹30 per kg through cooperative stores and state-run Amutham retail outlets from this weekend, with each person allowed to buy up to 5kg, the food and civil supplies department said on Thursday.
The state will procure 25,000 tonnes of fine variety rice in the first phase for the subsidised distribution. The move comes as rice and other essential commodity prices have risen, prompting criticism of the government and concerns over the availability of varieties sourced from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The department said the rice would be made available through cooperative stores and Amutham outlets. Civil supplies minister P Venkatramanan separately told reporters that the government planned to procure one lakh tonnes of fine variety rice in phases. Supply would be increased according to demand, he said.
The government also plans to procure 500 tonnes of toor dal through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India, or NAFED. The dal will be sold at ₹130 per kg through Amutham stores, according to the department’s statement.
Other price-control measures announced by the state include the sale of parboiled rice at ₹60 per kg, urad dal at ₹140 per kg, garlic at ₹240 per kg and red chilli at ₹330 per kg. The government will continue selling onions at ₹35 per kg through ration shops.
The announcement follows a political dispute over the rise in food prices. DMK president M K Stalin said Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay should visit local grocery stores to understand the burden on consumers. Venkatramanan responded that suspected hoarding by people affiliated with a political party was among the reasons for the price increase.
The minister said the price of rice had risen from ₹47 per kg in 2021 to ₹53 in 2023, ₹60 in 2025 and ₹62 currently, according to figures cited in the report. He also said tur dal prices had increased from ₹111 per kg in 2021 to ₹148 in 2023 and ₹171 in 2024.
To address suspected hoarding and black marketing, civil supplies Criminal Investigation Department officials have been instructed to take preventive action. District-level teams comprising district supplies officers, registrars of cooperative societies and revenue inspectors will also be formed, the department said.
The first sales of fine variety rice are scheduled to begin this weekend. The government’s next operational step will be to expand procurement and distribution based on consumer demand, while district teams and civil supplies officials monitor stocks and market practices.
