According to a leading trader in Chennai, Sona accounts for around 70 per cent of total rice sales in the state. This is because of the heavy demand for the variety in the state markets from all classes of Tamil Nadu populace.With the AP giving permits for inter-state movement of Sona, its arrivals into the state have increased by three to four times. The wholesale rice market in Chennai alone is receiving around 100 lorries per day since June 12, 2000, as compared to the 20 to 40 lorries that used to come into the city earlier via Karnataka, say informed sources. The arrivals from Karnataka have started to peter down in the last few days, they say. Tamil Nadu was receiving around 100 lorries of rice from Karnataka everyday, until last month.

The rice traders are also getting a better deal now. During the ban period, they had to pay ready cash for the consignments they ordered. Now, they get 50 to 60 days credit or three per cent discount on cash purchases.

With the freight charges coming back to normal, new Sona prices have dropped to Rs 1,550 per quintal from Rs 1,620 per quintal last week. They are expected to go down further, as the local Sona paddy stock in the market has depleted. And the original Ponni, cultivated in Arani, North Arcot district of Tamil Nadu, is no longer in demand as the grain of that variety has thickened. So the state is heavily dependent on Sona arrivals from Andhra.

About one-and-a-half years ago, AP had banned the movement of this variety to other states to cater to its domestic consumption. Due to heavy demand for Sona in other neighbouring states, especially Tamil Nadu, a major part of the produce was moving out of Andhra and prior to the ban, its prices in AP wholesale markets itself had gone as high as Rs 19 to Rs 20 per Kg. Sona is mainly cultivated in the Guntur and Prakasam districts of Andhra Pradesh.