 "Indicus price monitor")
Commodity for the week: Wheat
Wheat prices have been on the uptrend since June 2012, picking up pace again over the past few months. Minimum support price (MSP) has been rising, as the government tried to give farmers a more lucrative deal, with last year touching a record Rs 1,400 a quintal. The national average in the mandis, that was Rs 1,478 a quintal in April 2012 moved up to Rs 1,847 in April 2013, and has been Rs 1,943 a quintal in the first 10 days of this month.
The price of atta that stood in the range of Rs 17-18 a kg from 2010, followed the uptrend since last June; atta has been selling for more than Rs 23 a kg since last October. Interestingly, this rise has come through despite large stocks from two consecutive years of extremely good harvests and a good monsoon of 2013 that led to high expectations for the rabi crop. Unseasonal rains have damaged standing crop in many places across the country, and the harvest has been delayed this time, putting pressure on the prices of this basic food item.
Wheat prices have been on the uptrend since June 2012, picking up pace again over the past few months. Minimum support price (MSP) has been rising, as the government tried to give farmers a more lucrative deal, with last year touching a record Rs 1,400 a quintal. The national average in the mandis, that was Rs 1,478 a quintal in April 2012 moved up to Rs 1,847 in April 2013, and has been Rs 1,943 a quintal in the first 10 days of this month.
The price of atta that stood in the range of Rs 17-18 a kg from 2010, followed the uptrend since last June; atta has been selling for more than Rs 23 a kg since last October. Interestingly, this rise has come through despite large stocks from two consecutive years of extremely good harvests and a good monsoon of 2013 that led to high expectations for the rabi crop. Unseasonal rains have damaged standing crop in many places across the country, and the harvest has been delayed this time, putting pressure on the prices of this basic food item.