2022: When high prices ate into rural earnings more than in urban areas

War, weather and excess liquidity impacted Bharat, though year-end saw things looking up a bit

Year 2022 will perhaps be notable for the sharp spike in almost all agricultural commodities in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war, the adverse impact of uneven weather, and excess liquidity pumped into the markets during Covid that fuelled speculative trade.
 

Prices of almost all agricultural items, be it edible oils, cereals, cotton, milk, eggs, fodder and even vital inputs such as fertilisers, saw a sharp increase.
 

High prices also meant that though farm gate realisations might have improved but a vast majority of rural population, just like their urban counterparts, saw inflation eating into their earnings.
 

Though the high