Sowing of important kharif crops down, adds to uncertainty
Lower acreage in kharif crops like paddy and pulses has driven up prices of rice, tur and urad sharply over the past month. The higher prices in most of these food items are here to stay, say experts.
The silver lining is the huge grain (rice and wheat) stock of over 52 million tonnes in the government’s pool.
Over the past month, the price rise has ranged from 5 per cent in case of rice to as high as 35 per cent for tur. The sowing of important kharif crops was lagging as on July 17. The acreage under paddy is down 21 per cent, that under coarse cereals by over 12 per cent, while the sowing of pulses is down by 5.8 per cent. The sowing of oilseeds and sugarcane is also marginally down.
| EXPENSIVE MEAL | |||
| Commodity | Price as on 22-7-’08 | As on 22-6-’09 | As on 22-7-’09 |
| Rice | 20.00 | 20 | 21 |
| Wheat | 13.00 | 13 | 13 |
| Gram | 36.00 | 35 | 39 |
| Tur | 43.50 | 63 | 85 |
| Sugar | 19.00 | 27 | 27 |
| Mustard oil | 84.00 | 67 | 66 |
| Prices in Rs per kg for Delhi Source: Department of Consumer Affairs | |||
“The problem in pulses is that we have no carryover stocks, since output was low last year. Moreover, this year’s crop, too, does not seem satisfactory. The only option is to import but even internationally, supplies would increase only towards the end of the year. So, prices are likely to remain firm,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange.
In rice, though the country is estimated to have produced a record 99.15 mt last year, prices have been firming up due to erratic rain. It is only wheat which has seen a stable price at Rs 13 a kg on the back of a record crop. Sugar prices have stabilised, after seeing an increase of about 50 per cent on a three-year low output.
However, the government feels the situation is under control. “Edible oil prices have softened. Sugar prices have remained steady on lower output. There are some seasonal variations in potato, onion and other vegetables, even though arrivals at Azadpur Mandi (Delhi’s huge wholesale centre) are higher compared with last year. We are distributing pulses with a subsidy of Rs 10 a kg and trying to maximise import of tur and urad. We have sufficient wheat and rice stocks,” said Yashwant Bhave, secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs.
Fruit and vegetable prices, too, have been rising. “On an average, vegetable prices have jumped by 30-40 per cent in the last one month on adverse weather conditions and lower rainfall. Sales of items like capsicum and cucumber have dipped and customers are shifting to vegetables whose prices are comparatively lower,” said Sunil Bansal, chief executive officer (fruit and vegetables business) at Mother Dairy, which operates about 400 vegetable outlets in New Delhi and the national capital region.