High temperatures help improve paddy quality
However, the heatwave has posed challenges for the production of rice-bran oil, with manufacturers facing a shortage of labor. Rice-bran oil is extracted from the hard outer brown layer of rice, known as bran, within 24 hours of paddy harvesting. The reduced acreage under rabi paddy this year, as reported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, has not hindered the estimated production of 123.57 lakh metric tonnes of rabi rice.