Traders to discuss wheat quota

With the Gujarat government declaring stock limits on wheat and pulses, the city-based wheat traders, under the aegis of the Rajkot Market Yard General Merchants Association, have decided to meet officials of the civil supplies department on Wednesday, requesting further clarification into the matter.

The state government has imposed a stock limit of 500 mt a day for wheat traders and small entrepreneurs, whereas the limit for corporates and multinational companies engaged in the trade of cereals has been fixed at 5,000 mt a day.

Wheat traders in the city strongly opposed the move to impose stock limits. "Why is the stock limit imposed on the commodity, which is already cultivated in excess across the state and in the Saurashtra-Kutch region," questioned an angry trader.

Of the 560-580 mt of wheat production registered globally, the country produces 65-75 mt and consumes 70-72 mt. The major wheat-producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Gujarat, which together account for around 93 per cent of the country's total production.

Wheat is sown between November and January and harvested between March and April. The wheat marketing season begins from April every year.

In the last few years, Gujarat has produced 18-20 lakh tonne of wheat, which makes up about 90 per cent of the total production of cereals in the state.

Of the 18-20 lakh tonne, more than 30 per cent of the production aggregating to 6-7 lakh tonne was produced in Saurashtra and Kutch.With the cultivation of wheat scaling marginally across the Saurashtra-Kutch region due to good rains, the production in the current season is estimated to be 27-28 lakh tonne in the state, with the Saurashtra-Kutch region likely to register 9-10 lakh tonne of production.