| The marketing yards in the Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat are witnessing a good supply of wheat following sufficient rains this year. The increase in supply has, however, led to a sharp drop in the prices of the commodity, affecting the farmers in the region.
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| Wheat was grown in a larger area this time as good rains filled the small and big dams, making sufficient water available for irrigation. Wheat was sown in more then one lakh hectares of land in the Saurashtra-Kutch region.
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| Rajkot and Jamnagar districts posted record cultivation. In the last year, wheat was cultivated in 23,000 hectares. The area of land under cultivation has grown over four-fold this year.
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| However, the increase in supply of the commodity has led to a steep fall in prices.
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| In January-February last year, 20 kgs of wheat cost Rs 180, but the price declined to Rs 140 per 20 kgs this year.
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| Bhikhubhai Patel, a dealer at the marketing yard here, said though the farmers are satisfied with the bumper crop, the fall in prices has pushed them to crisis.
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| Farmers have spent a lot on pesticides, fertilisers, seeds and irrigation, but the returns are insufficient to cover the costs.
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| Farmers fear that fresh stocks of wheat will start arriving from Punjab and other states within 15 days, driving down the prices further.
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| H V Vadodaria, secretary of the Rajkot marketing yard, said there was good demand for the commodity from several centres in south Gujarat and this will help stabilise the prices. |
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