Curry lovers suffer when it's too hot and dry

Curry-lovers face paying more for their basmati rice. The price of the specialist grain is rising daily due to low rainfall affecting production.

Tilda, which sells 70% of all branded basmati rice, said the crop is down 25% on last year and is at seven-year lows because of poor rainfall in areas of India and Pakistan, pictured above.

The lack of supply affects what is known as the pure basmati crop which cannot be recreated artificially by blending with other grades. Tilda said it had not increased the price of its pure basmati for eight years but was now raising its retail price by about 10%.

The plant is particularly delicate and low yielding and can only be grown once a year. Tilda believes that the problems with supply can be traced back to last year's poor rainfall in India and Pakistan, the worst since 1987.

By early August 2002 - halfway through the rainy season - rainfall was 30% below average.

The rice is planted in the nursery fields in May and 30 days later transplanted by hand into the paddy fields.

Three key rice-producing states - Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh - have been particularly hit, according to Tilda.

Less land has been available for planting, leading to price rises every day. However, Tilda, which said it had invested to secure sufficient supplies of the pure grain, said the crop that was available was of the same high quality as last year.