Paddy prices in Telangana and AP: MSP, fine and common varieties
How the two paddy crops a year and government buying at the minimum support price work, why fine varieties like BPT 5204 sell higher than common paddy, what moves prices, and the latest paddy prices across markets.
What this guide covers
Paddy is the most grown crop in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and much of it is sold to the government rather than to private traders. This guide explains the two crops a year, how government buying at the minimum support price works, how fine and common varieties differ, what moves the market price, and the latest prices across markets.
What paddy is
Paddy is rice still in its husk, as it comes from the field. Rice mills remove the husk and polish the grain; from a quintal of paddy a mill gets roughly two-thirds of a quintal of rice, plus bran and broken rice. Mandi prices on our site are for paddy, per quintal, not for rice.
Two crops a year
In Telangana, paddy is grown in the vanakalam (kharif) season with the monsoon and harvested from about October to December, and again in the yasangi (rabi) season under irrigation, harvested from about April to May. Andhra Pradesh's delta districts along the Godavari and Krishna grow kharif and rabi crops too. Arrivals and government buying are heaviest just after each harvest.
Government buying at the MSP
The central government announces a minimum support price for common and Grade A paddy each season. In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the state civil supplies corporations buy paddy from farmers at the MSP through purchase centres set up in villages and market yards, often run by cooperative societies and women's groups, and the paddy is milled for the public distribution system. Paddy must meet fair average quality norms on moisture, chaff and damaged or discoloured grains; wet paddy has to be dried before it is accepted. State governments sometimes add a bonus on top of the MSP.
Fine and common varieties
Fine (sanna) varieties such as BPT 5204 (Samba Mahsuri, the Sona Masoori rice) and Telangana Sona (RNR 15048) usually sell above common (dodda) varieties such as MTU 1010, because the rice they give is in demand with households and fetches more. In many markets, common paddy trades close to the MSP during government buying, while private millers and traders pay more for good fine paddy.
What moves paddy prices
The size of the crop and the pace of government buying matter most. A delay in opening purchase centres, or a large crop, can push farmers to sell to traders below the MSP; cyclones and rain at harvest time, a common risk in coastal Andhra Pradesh in November and December, can damage the grain and lower its price. Rice export rules and demand from millers also affect what private buyers pay.
The latest paddy prices
On 15 Oct, the median mandi price of paddy across the markets that reported it that day was ₹2,450 per quintal; 255 markets reported it in the last 30 days. Our paddy page lists every state and market, with the lowest and highest prices and charts.
Week by week
Over the last 8 weeks, the weekly median price moved from ₹2,390 per quintal (week ending 23 Aug 2026) to ₹2,441 per quintal (week ending 11 Oct 2026), a change of +2.1%. Each figure is the median of every price that markets reported that week (Monday to Sunday).
| Week ending | Median price | Markets (busiest day) |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 2026 | ₹2,441 per quintal | 184 |
| 4 Oct 2026 | ₹2,431 per quintal | 164 |
| 27 Sep 2026 | ₹2,420 per quintal | 166 |
| 20 Sep 2026 | ₹2,400 per quintal | 164 |
| 13 Sep 2026 | ₹2,400 per quintal | 161 |
| 6 Sep 2026 | ₹2,389 per quintal | 174 |
| 30 Aug 2026 | ₹2,400 per quintal | 164 |
| 23 Aug 2026 | ₹2,390 per quintal | 160 |
How to read our paddy pages
The paddy page shows the median across all reporting markets, prices by state, the lowest and highest markets and a long-term chart; Telangana and Andhra Pradesh market pages are in English and Telugu. Each price carries the date the market reported it. Basmati paddy has its own page, because its prices are far higher.
Common questions
Why is the mandi price below the MSP in some markets? The MSP is paid at government purchase centres for paddy that meets the quality norms. Paddy sold to private traders, especially wet or lower-quality paddy, or paddy sold before the centres open, can fetch less.
When are paddy prices usually lowest? Usually around the harvests, when arrivals are heaviest.
Why do fine varieties sell higher? Their rice is in greater demand with households, so millers pay more for them.
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