parboiled rice usna chawal process price difference mill
What is parboiling of paddy and is it worth doing before selling?
AAnup Ghosh8mo ago · 287 views
5 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓8mo ago
Parboiling is partly boiling paddy in the husk by soaking, steaming and drying before milling, which hardens the grain, reduces breakage during milling and pushes some nutrients into the kernel. It gives higher head rice recovery and a longer shelf life, and parboiled (usna) rice has strong demand in eastern and southern India. As a farmer you usually sell raw paddy and the mill does parboiling, but some FPOs and small custom units take it up for better margins. Setting up your own parboiling needs a soaking tank, steaming unit and a drying yard or dryer, so it suits a group rather than one small farmer. Check local demand and milling rates before investing.
TTapas7mo ago
In our area usna rice sells faster than raw. Our SHG does small batch parboiling and the margin is decent.
MMurugan7mo ago
In Tamil Nadu almost all our rice is parboiled because people prefer it for daily cooking. I just sell paddy to the local boiled-rice mill and they pay a slightly better rate than raw-rice mills, so check which mill type is near you.
SSubrata Das6mo ago
One caution from my custom unit experience: if the drying after steaming is uneven, the grain yellows and cracks and buyers cut the price. Getting the soak and dry timing right takes a season or two of practice, so start small.
IIshwar Sahu6mo ago
In Chhattisgarh I tried sun drying the steamed paddy too fast on hot cement and many grains cracked, so now I dry it gently in a thinner layer. Slow even drying after steaming gave me far less breakage at the mill.