In the festive season, the general public is very upset due to inflation, the Indian government is trying but it is not able to control inflation.
Average retail prices of kitchen essentials including wheat, flour and rice have seen a significant increase during the last one year and the rising prices may continue with the onset of the festive season. As far as wheat is concerned, the prices have gone up a lot in the last few months. According to traders in Delhi’s wholesale markets, wheat prices have seen a record rise of Rs 2,560 per quintal due to sluggish supply and high demand. Wheat production fell this year due to a heat wave, affecting domestic supplies of agricultural produce.
Jai Prakash Jindal of Lawrence Road Mandi in Delhi said that the prices are increasing continuously. At present, the price of wheat is Rs 2560 per quintal, he said. It is likely to increase further to Rs 2,600 in the coming days this festive season. Mandi prices were ruling around Rs 2,150-2,175 per quintal since the ban on export of wheat on May 14 this year.
Jindal said this year production was low and the government did not stop exports at the right time. He said, by the time the government banned the export of wheat, a lot of wheat had been exported. Government data also showed a similar trend in average retail prices of wheat, flour and rice. According to the Consumer Affairs Department data, the average retail price of flour is Rs 36.13 per kg. Similarly, the average retail price of rice on Friday was Rs 38.2 per kg and the average retail price of wheat on Friday was Rs 31.
Traders said that while wheat prices have registered an increase of around 14-15 per cent, flour prices have registered a rise of around 18-19 per cent. Similarly, the retail prices in the retail markets of Delhi have also increased by about 7-8 per cent.
Traders said the reasons for the rise in wheat prices include various factors like international demand-supply situation, rise in global commodity prices and conflict between major wheat exporting countries like Ukraine and Russia. PLC/GT
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