Now, wheat grinds the consumer.

Nagpur: After dals, it's the roti which is biting the common man's pocket. Despite government's moves, wheat rates have spiked 20% in the wholesale market in last fortnight. It's the same old story; the stocks are low and consumers will have to wait till the fresh crop arrives. As a saving grace, traders have discounted any further hike in the days to come.

Last week, the government also decided to release 10 lakh tonnes of wheat stock, which is expected to bring some respite. The rates eased by Rs100 a quintal a few days ago, but are still on the higher side.

Rates of mill quality, the basic variety of wheat, is considered the benchmark in this trade. The government holds weekly auctions of the mill quality wheat. In last one week, the rates jumped to Rs2,000 from Rs1,640-1,700 per quintal, said Pawan Poddar, a wheat trader in the city.

Even when the rates of pulses like tur dal and chana dal were making headlines recently, wheat had remained range bound over the years. A spike of Rs200 a quintal is unprecedented, say traders.

Sources said the government had ignored estimates by trade analysts of a lower output this year. The government estimates were higher, by over 100 lakh tonnes, as against those by independent agencies. Finally, the actual output turned out to be on the lower side at 835 lakh tonnes as against 940 lakh tonnes projected by the government. A large quantity of stored wheat was also destroyed due to pest attack.

Incidentally, the government also decided to extend the 25% import duty on wheat. This made even imports costlier, said Poddar. "Now, the tax has been cut to 10%. However, the rates of wheat in countries like Ukraine, from where the grain is sourced, have gone up now. The recent fall of Rs100 a tonne is substantial, though," he said.

Secretary of the Itwari Grain and Seeds Merchants Association Pratap Motwani said rates of mill quality wheat in the open market come to around Rs2,100 a quintal or Rs21 a kg. The rates of other varieties have also gone up by Rs200 a kg. At the current level, wheat is available from Rs22 to 40 a kg.

However, prices have now touched a peak and may not go beyond that, say traders. The fresh crop is expected after February and the rates may ease considerably after that, said Motwani.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com