As more farmers plan to plant the cereal in light of a bullish market, prices of wheat seeds have jumped by more than 10% this year. When compared to the previous year, wheat seeds are selling for over $3,500 per quintal. Breeder seeds purchased from universities cost about 7,000 rupees, according to Sunil Mukhati, a farmer from Dewas in Madhya Pradesh. A farmer needs 50–60 kg of wheat seed per acre.
“In some regions, the cost of wheat seed has skyrocketed to $4,100. Exporter Rajesh Paharia Jain from Delhi stated, “This is significantly higher than last year. “Wheat prices are higher because the Center has stopped its supply through the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), stopped selling wheat through the open market sale scheme (OMSS), and supplies have been impacted due to low production this year,” said Sandeep Bansal, Director of Kanpur-based Grain Flour India Pvt Ltd.
Trade sources reported that farmers in Maharashtra want to plant more wheat instead of a gram (chana). Data from the Agriculture Ministry show that during the weekend of November 4, wheat sowing surged by a factor of nearly four to 7.67 lakh hectares.
