Rice stocks soar 9-10% on price hike buzz

Moneycontrol Bureau

Shares of rice companies are gaining on reports of price hike. Kohinoor Foods was up 10 percent, KRBL gained 9 percent while LT Foods surged 10 percent in intraday trade on Wednesday. Reports suggest that a decline in paddy production in eastern states and Andhra Pradesh has triggered speculation of a lower rice output this year. This may increase rice prices by 10-30 percent.

However, in an interview to CNBC-TV18, Gurnam Arora, Joint MD, Kohinoor Foods is confident that the company will see 15-20 percent higher crops on back of good monsoon.

"Basmati prices have gone up due to high paddy costs. Global rice prices are still subdued, while basmati procurement prices are higher. We may not be able to pass high price to export markets," he added.

Meanwhile, India's rice exports are estimated at a record 11 million tonnes in 2012-13 marketing year ended September this year on bumper production and strong overseas demand, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

At 11:29 hrs LT Foods was quoting at Rs 83.60, up Rs 3.40, or 4.24 percent, Kohinoor Foods was at Rs 40.50, up Rs 2.90, or 7.71 percent, KRBL was at Rs 32.05, up Rs 1.55, or 5.08 percent on the BSE.