Wheat may make a hole in your pocket

BULK PURCHASE of wheat, at a higher price by multinational companies, has led to rise in the prices of wheat. Consequently, the big farmers have stopped selling wheat to the government or to wholesale traders as they are awaiting good offer from big companies .

BULK PURCHASE of wheat, at a higher price by multinational companies, has led to rise in the prices of wheat. Consequently, the big farmers have stopped selling wheat to the government or to wholesale traders as they are awaiting good offer from big companies .

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The city wheat traders feel that in case the government failed to stock sufficient wheat in its godowns, there will be an acute shortage of wheat which will be sold at an exorbitant price affecting the purchasing capacity of the people living below the poverty line.

Bhoopesh Agarwal, a wholesale wheat trader, told the HT that despite an increase of ten rupee a quintal in the purchase price by the government, the farmers have preferred to sell it to big traders and the multinational companies at a higher price.

The revised government rates are Rs 650 per quintal while the farmers were being offered Rs 750 and Rs 780 per quintal by the multinational companies. Thus, the farmers have stopped going to the co-operative stores to sell the wheat and preferred to sell it to the big national and international companies.
Middlemen appointed by the big companies have contacted the farmers in their villages and took the delivery of wheat.