The average monthly price of wheat flour in the country for the month of April stood at Rs 32.38 per kg, which is the highest since January 2010. The main reason for the increase in the price of wheat in the country is due to increase in demand in the world along with fall in production and stocks. According to the data reported by the Food Civil Supplies Department of the states to the Central Food Distribution Department, the average price of wheat flour in the country on Saturday (May 7) was Rs 32.78 per kg, compared to the price of last year (Rs 30.03 per kg). 9.15 is higher in comparison.
According to the data collected from 156 centers across the country, the highest price of wheat flour in the country on Saturday was in Port Blair (59 per kg) while the lowest was in Purulia district of West Bengal (22 per kg). Talking about the four metros of the country, the cost of one kg of wheat flour in the retail market is Rs 49 in Mumbai, Rs 34 in Chennai, Rs 29 in Kolkata and Rs 27 in Delhi.
Sources said that the biggest reason behind the rise in prices in the country is the reduction in wheat production in Ukraine due to the Russo-Ukraine war. Both Russia and Ukraine are counted among the major exporting countries of wheat. At the same time, the demand for Indian wheat has increased rapidly in the world due to supply disruptions from these countries. Expensive diesel is also increasing the price of wheat and flour in the country.
In terms of retail inflation on the basis of Consumer Price Index, the price of non-PDS wheat/flour has risen by 7.77 per cent in March, which is the highest since March 2017 when retail inflation on wheat was around 7.62 per cent.
Flour prices are rising at a time when the country is witnessing a decline in wheat production. For the financial year 2021-22, the government has set a wheat production target of 110 million tonnes, which is higher than the 2020-21 production target of 109.59 million tonnes. The second advance estimate for 2021-22 was pegged at 111.32 million tonnes on February 16 by the agriculture ministry.
In March this year, due to the rapid increase in temperature, the production of wheat may decrease. Union Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said that this year the production of wheat in the country can be around 105 million tonnes, which is less than last year.