For the past one month wheat and rice prices have moved up in the wholesale market. “There has been an average rise of Rs 200 per quintal across all varieties of wheat and rice in May so far as compared to prices in April,” said Prabhakar Deshmukh, President of Nagpur Chillar Kirana Vyapari Sangh while speaking with The Hitavada.

 

He said that the wheat prices are increasing because the unseasonal rains in the earlier month had damaged the crop to a some extent. Farmers had to suffer losses as they could not get good remuneration for the spoilt produce. Apart from this, the State Government is purchasing wheat in large quantities as buffer stock and storing it in godowns.

 

Another reason for the wheat prices to rise is that most of the ‘Mandis’ in Madhya Pradesh are closed due to lockdown and curfew to control the spread of COVID-19. Wheat arriving from Madhya Pradesh in Nagpur’s wholesale markets have been affected to a large extent. “So traders are going to the villages and directly purchasing wheat from the farmers and bringing it to Nagpur. All these factors are pushing up wheat prices in the wholesale market,” he said.

In the wholesale market on Friday, wheat prices were quoted as follows: MP Bot Sarbati super quality is priced in the range of Rs 3,900 per quintal to Rs 4,400 per quintal, MP Bot Sarbati at Rs 3,300 per quintal to Rs 3,700 per quintal, 1544 variety at Rs 2,600 per quintal to Rs 2,800 per quintal, Lokwan A grade at Rs 2,500 per quintal to Rs 2,700 per quintal, Lokwan B grade at Rs 2,100 per quintal to Rs 2,300 per quintal and MP Bot Tukdi Delux at Rs 2,400 per quintal to Rs 2,700 per quintal, depending on the quality, he said.

 

In similar manner, the rice prices had also shot up in the wholesale market. The production of rice was lower by 20 per cent due to unfavourable climate conditions as compared to last year’s production, he said.

 

The local rice varieties like Jai Shri Ram, HMT, Swarna and Kanki arrive from Bhramapuri, Gondia, Bhandara, Mul and other nearby areas.

 

Basmati rice on the other hand arrives from Dehradun, Delhi and some parts of north India, he said.

In the wholesale market, the rice prices were quoted as follows: Jai Shri Ram at Rs 4,800 per quintal to Rs 5,200 per quintal, HMT at Rs 3,800 per quintal to Rs 4,200 per quintal, Swarna at Rs 2,300 per quintal to Rs 2,600 per quintal and Kanki at Rs 2,400 per quintal to Rs 2,600 per quintal, depending on the quality, he said. Accordingly, large quantities of Jai Shri Ram rice variety is despatched to South Indian states like Kerala. Indian varieties like Basmati and Jai Shri Ram are in great demand and exported to Middle East countries, he added. He expects the wheat and rice prices to further move up from current levels.