Basmati growers allege scam in sudden rise in rates

With basmati prices showing upward trend after remaining low, growers in Punjab and Haryana today described "sudden rise" in rates as a "big scam", alleging traders exploited them by paying "peanuts" for their crop under a "well-planned conspiracy".
Extending support to basmati growers, rice exporters blamed Arthiyas (commission agents) for buying crop at lesser rates from farmers in order to earn "super profits" by "storing" aromatic varieties.
Farmers also accused the state governments for "turning blind eye" to the "scam" which was unfolding right under their nose.
"It is a well planned conspiracy of traders to deny farmers remunerative prices for their basmati crop," Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) General Secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri said today.

He also alleged that the government had failed in checking the exploitation of growers despite informing the authorities beforehand to take note of it.
"We had informed Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal about the exploitation of farmers but nothing was done to prevent it," he claimed.

After remaining low initially, the prices of popular basmati variety PUSA 1121 rose to Rs 3,000-3,100 per quintal as against Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,800 per quintal early this month, traders said. The price of 1509 basmati variety also jumped to Rs 1,800 a quintal, they said.
"What is advantage of rise in basmati rate now? Over 90 per cent growers have already disposed of their crop as they do not have the capacity to store it for sale when price increases," Singh said.

BKU (Ugrahan) has been demanding Rs 4,500 per quintal rate for basmati 1509 variety and Rs 5,000 per quintal for PUSA 1121.
It, along with other farmers outfits, had even launched a massive agitation against Punjab government and the Centre last month in which rail services remained paralysed for a week in Punjab.
Farmers also alleged that traders and rice millers bought 1509 basmati variety at lower rates and then sold it at higher rates to exporters to earn quick profits.
"There is also a scam in purchasing 1509 variety. Instead of delivering 1509 variety which was purchased at MSP, to the government after milling, millers sold it at higher rates and then replaced it with ordinary variety," said BKU (Haryana) state president Gurnam Singh while demanding a high-level probe in it.

Meanwhile, rice exporters blamed middlemen and commission agents for "looting" farmers and exporters as well by manipulating the market.
"Commission agents bought basmati crop at very low rates from farmers and then stored it in order to create artificial shortage so as to see hike in prices.
"One way they cheated farmers and on the other hand, they tried to exploit exporters by charging more," said Ashok Sethi, Director, Punjab Rice Millers and Exporters Association.
Punjab and Haryana are major growers of premium variety of rice with about 8 lakh hectare and 7 lakh hectare respectively being under these states.