The price of the new rice crop has fallen to the lowest levels in recent times, much of the drop taking place in this past year and the year before. A study by the Agriculture Department and the Agriculture Marketing Directorate says the drop was steepest in 2000, and the trend continued during 2001. The prices have dropped by an average of Rs 200 between 1996 and 2001. The main reason for the drop in prices is lower prices across the open border with India.