SWABI: Wheat grain price here in the district has jumped to Rs3,000 from Rs2,250 per 50kg, registering an increase of Rs750 in the wake of just completed harvest by the farmers, said traders and consumers on Sunday.

Those who usually buy grain to meet domestic needs have been running from pillar to post to acquire the commodity from the farmers who have adopted a wait and see policy in the hope the price would go up further in the next few days.

UzairKhan,a leading farmer of Maneri village, told this correspondent that he would sell his 200 maund of wheat grain, but he was waiting for the price to go up.

The flour mills here have also been making excessive procurement of wheat, which has created problems for the ordinary people.

The people wanted to buy wheat grain according to requirements of their families, but when the question of paying money came it was difficult for them to match the mills strategyof offering higher price.

The government’s decision to increase the wheat support price from Rs1,650 to Rs1,800 per 40 kilogrammes has also apparently affected the ordinary people who buy the grain every year.

“We can’t match the price offered by mills who usually hire wheat traders for buying the commodity for them and taking the same straight to their warehouses,” said a resident.

An official of local mills said they planned to get the wheat and store it because once the grain was shifted by farmers to their houses it was difficult to purchase.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2021