NEW DELHI (Commoditiescontrol) - Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan demanding reservation from the State Government of Rajasthan has disrupted wheat supply through railways and roadways to southern states and other parts of the country. Train movement and road traffic in Bharatpur, Dausa and other nearby Gujjar community dominated areas have been stopped. The road and rail blockage started last Wednesday, was continued on Monday as well.
Traders said only 3-4 railway rakes of wheat (each rake 25,000 bags) could be flagged off in the last 4-5 days. Normally, 10-12 rakes should be sent in the period. The agitation has been intensified since last Wednesday. According to information received, agitators have blocked railway route at Sikandra near Hindaun City which falls on Delhi-Mumbai route. This is one of most busy routes to connect various parts of the country. Railway have to divert trains carrying goods and passengers through other routes if feasible. Large number of services have been cancelled.
A trader from Kota said that wheat rakes are sent from Kota, Baran, Bundi and other places. The grains are shipped to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha in south India. Besides the local regions, wheat is also transported to Delhi and other markets. For the last two months, when wheat arrival picked up, traders are dispatching consignments regularly. The traders told that if the unrest continues for long period, wheat supply will be halted.
Wheat movement will be stopped at various levels like rural markets, main regional markets and railway yards.
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are major wheat supplier states for southern states and other parts of the country. In Punjab and Haryana, farmers prefer to sell their crop to government’s agency through commission agents. Farmers in Uttar Pradesh sell their produce to government’s agencies and private traders but untimely rain and hailstorm has destroyed wheat crop in Uttar Pradesh so the state is not prominent supplier due to poor quality.
Mr Uttam Chand Jethwani told that wheat supply has dropped in Rajasthan to around 2-2.25 lakh bags. Earlier, it was 4-5 lakh bags so supply pressure is manageable for few days. But the disruption continues for couple of days, it will be difficult to manage the supply. In such situation, wheat prices may fall. The price fall may be Rs 20-40 per quintal at initial stage. The price dynamics will depend on wheat movement. On Monday, wheat was traded with a loss of Rs 10-12 per quintal for premium varieties.
On the other hand, prolonged agitation may give some support to wheat in the markets of Madhya Pradesh. if the blockage continues, demand may be diverted to MP. Indore, Ratlam and Dewas are the major markets which fall in the route of Delhi-Mumbai. Indore based wholesale trader Mr Kailash Bansal expects that prolong agitation may divert demand from Rajasthan to Madhya Pradesh.
Currently, wheat prices are cheaper in Rajasthan markets so southern buyers prefer to buy, but prolong blockage will encourage them to by from Madhya Pradesh. Mr Bansal said that wheat prices will find support in such situation. But other factors will also influence the markets. Presently, wheat supply is very limited. As per market estimate, total supply is not more that 40,000-50,000 bags in entire state.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau; +91-22-61391533)
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