|
All
these days, I had been writing about how the
organized retail enterprises, particularly the
one of bigger business houses such as Reliance
and Bharati or MNCs such as Wal-Mart will
improve the things for both the producers
as well as the consumers. As indicated in the
mission statements of the Reliance Retails and
others, farmers were to get the fairest price
and other technical and financial support for
farming inputs from the retail enterprises, and
the consumers were to get the commodities at the
lowest prices with the many intermediaries in
the system getting eliminated. If the mission
truly gets translated in real business model,
the inflation can be in check. However, in the
present system, the traders and the other
intermediaries (and their godfathers who may be
politicians or mafia dons) are getting all the
benefits. With continuously increasing prices of
all the essential commodities of daily use, the
majority of the consumers are stressed. The
producers of the commodities don’t get any share
of the extra price charged from the consumers.
If the big retailers buy vegetables and fruits
and other agricultural produces from the
farmers, they can contain the prices too unless
they become too greedy to get the maximum from
the consumer to fatten the bottom line. If they
pay the farmers the best price, the majority of
the ‘aam aadmi’ in rural India could think of a
good living. However, I don’t know if it is
happening. ITC buys its wheat straight from the
farmers through its Choupal network. I don’t
know how much they pay to the farmers. But I
don’t find the ITC’s ‘Aashribaad’ atta any
cheaper than other brands.
Media is talking of the spiraling prices of the
essential commodities. Politicians are concerned
and so is the government as the ruling party has
already lost two states where it was in power.
It is to face election in some more states soon.
Normally, the government cuts import duties to
facilitate supply improvement at cheaper price,
and bans exports to improve the supply. The
government has done that. It also has slashed
fuel prices this time as it is considered as the
major reason of high transportation cost. And
yet the price of almost every commodity has
risen.
Naturally, it becomes difficult for a
democratically run government to contain
inflation if the trading community and the
organized producers become unscrupulous.
Unfortunately, many a times, one gets that
perception in this country.
How can the price of onion go on increasing in
Delhi (around Rs 20 per kilo) where most of the
people can’t have satisfaction of a good meal
without onion, when the farmers producing the
onion in Nasik are hardly paid a remunerative
price (as low as Rs 2 per kilo)? Can the
transpiration and the margin for business cost
so high to account for the difference? Every now
and then, I find the rates of Azadpur mandi of
New Delhi published in media. However, as
consumer, I find the retail price of each of the
vegetables from local vendors at least three
times more that that of the mandi. Why is it so?
Is it not because of the cartel of the petty
traders?
And the reality of the price rises for some of
the essential items, as reported, are: “the
price of moong dal have shot up 118 per cent
from Rs 22.50 to Rs 49 and those of urad are up
82 per cent. Wheat is up 33 per cent while atta
is up 44 per cent. The onion prices shot up 186
per cent. In urban homes, the expenditure on
just food and groceries has gone up by as much
as 25 to 40 per cent.”
If I go by what Reliance Retails and Shubhiksha
promised, the prices could have been in check
without causing such a worrying situation.
Nothing has happened in last one year to cause
the steep price rise of the commodities
mentioned above.
|
Comments: |
Indeed a very pressing concern has
been raised by Mr. Indra.
We are still living in the 60s
vis-à-vis the agricultural and food
sector. The price of tomatoes is one
good example that will shed some
light to the imminent need. In
off-seasons it soars as high as Rs.
30/kg and to sheer contrast take a
big tumble to as low as Rs 2/kg in
season. It is the farmer who finally
bears the brunt. Sometimes they are
compelled to throw the excess so
that the prices don't come down.
Here comes food processing for the
rescue. Access of tomatoes could be
processed in a variety of ways to be
used for the off season. There is
need of food processing companies
and cold storage facilities and most
of all there is a need of some
change in the food culture that
could very well be brought about by
advertisements etc. Readers who have
been living in USA would agree that
a sizable proportion of our tomato
consumption is in processed forms
that saves both money and effort.
There are a thousand of items of
this nature and the only answer to
this that has been time tested to
work is the organized retails in
food sector. The big retail
companies could very well be the
driving force behind this.
Agreed that there is some distrust
and apprehension as there was in the
case of IT in the beginning, but we
should not oppose something out of
the fear of an uncertain future. In
the long run all these policies
would benefit the farmers and the
consumers and would provide better
food security and stability. -
Upendra Prasad - Mar. 19, 2007
ITC's 'Aashribaad' wheat flour is
the best and cheapest among any
packaged aata. - Manoj Kumar -
Mar. 19, 2007 |
|
Discussion on this topic is now
closed. |
Return to previous Page |
