The News Minute | July 17, 2014 | 9:41 PM IST Barely a month before Onam, Kerala’s largest festival, the price of rice seems to be climbing up. Many say that this trend before Onam is a cause for concern.  Matta Rice or red rice that is heavily consumed in Kerala is now out of supply. Reports say that these are steps taken by the rice lobby to make profits during the Onam season. Most of the rice supplied in Kerala comes from Andhra Pradesh. Not just the red rice, the price of other rice grains coming in from Andhra Pradesh like Jaya and Sulekha are also going up. There two strains of rice are widely used in the southern region of Kerala. Some reports suggest that the rice mill lobby has decided to stop supplying rice to the government agencies in Kerala. Instead, they might employ middle men to sell the rice at exorbitant rates to the government. The issue has not been addressed by the government, reports say.