Rajkot merchants want lower freight for wheat

Grains and pulses merchants, under the aegis of Rajkot Market Yard General Merchant Association (RMYGMA), have urged railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to shift wheat to a lower category freight classification in the upcoming Budget.

Besides, they have requested removal of six per cent surcharge on railway freight charges, considering grains and pulses as an essential commodity.

Wheat, which was in Class 90 of Railway Freight Chart till 2003-04, was upgraded to Class 120 in 2004-05.

RMYGMA secretary Suresh Chandarana said, "Till 2003-04, freight on wheat, which was in Class 90 of Railway Freight Chart, was at Rs 959.30 per MT. But since 2004-05, it has shot up to Rs 1,279.10 per MT, which is a 33 per cent increase."

In the fiscal 2005-06, the commodity remained in Class 120 but freight rates were again revised at Rs 1,325 per MT, he added.

Usually, wheat is transported to southern markets from Saurashtra railway stations in BCN (covered) wagons, of which each wagon can handle approximately 60 MT of wheat on an average.

There are usually 40 wagons in one rake. Around 35 rakes are being utilised by the wheat trading fraternity of the region mainly from Gondal, Aadri (Veraval), Surendranagar, Windmill (Jamnagar) and Rajkot railway stations for the purpose.

The association had already sought an additional 60-70 block rakes of wagons, anticipating good produce across the Saurashtra region.

"Approximately 84,000 MT of wheat was transported through the railways to southern destinations last season, which led the Western Railways to earn revenues worth Rs 10-12 crore. If our demands are met this year, Western Railways could earn revenues up to Rs 24 crore," claimed Dinesh Tanna of Tirupati Brokers, a wheat broking firm from the city.

Of the 560-580 million MT of global wheat production, India produces 65-75 million MT and consumes 70-72 million MT. The major wheat producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Gujarat, which together account for nearly 93 per cent of the total production.

In the last few years, Gujarat produced about 18-20 lakh MT of wheat. Of this, more than 30 per cent was produced in the Saurashtra-Kutch region.

This season, wheat production is estimated to be approximately 28 lakh MT across Gujarat. The Saurashtra-Kutch region is likely to produce 9-10 lakh MT.