The demand for famous wheat varieties like Sharbati and Kathia (Durum) from Madhya Pradesh has increased tremendously in the global market due to the war that broke out between the two neighboring countries after Russian invasion of Ukraine. Due to pick-up in demand, traders in Madhya Pradesh are buying quality wheat at prices much above the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,015 per quintal. Due to this, the luck of the farmers cultivating wheat has shone this year.
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Russia and Ukraine are counted among the major global suppliers of wheat. But due to the war between these two major wheat producing countries, its supply from both the countries has been interrupted. In this situation many countries are buying wheat from other countries including India. Western sanctions have also reduced Russia’s wheat exports. Banesingh Chauhan, a farmer of Lohari Buzurg village in Dhar district, told PTI on Sunday, “This time traders are also reaching farmers’ homes for good quality wheat. They are also making immediate payment to the farmers by buying Sharbati variety of wheat at a price ranging from Rs 2,200 to Rs 2,500 per quintal.
Chouhan said that he had never seen such competition among traders for buying wheat from farmers. Madhya Pradesh State Agricultural Marketing Board’s Managing Director Vikas Narwal said that due to the high prices of wheat in the open market, the state is witnessing 30 percent decline in government procurement these days. He said, “Due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, this time there is a huge jump in the demand for export of wheat from the state and bumper arrival of this food grains is happening in the mandis.
Narwal said that during the last marketing season 1.76 lakh tonnes of wheat was exported from the state, whereas in the current marketing season, about 2.5 lakh tonnes of wheat has been exported within the last one month and about two months to the end of the season. The rest are. He said that traders are buying Sharbati and Durum wheat from farmers of Madhya Pradesh and exporting it mainly to United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bangladesh, Vietnam and Philippines.
Narwal said, this time importers from Africa and countries adjoining this continent are also showing interest in wheat from Madhya Pradesh. Wheat from Madhya Pradesh may also reach Egypt, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Tanzania in the coming days. He informed that wheat was sown in an area of 95.51 lakh hectare during the 2021-22 rabi season in the state and its production is estimated to be 346.70 lakh tonnes.