Indian Farmers Lost Rs 40,000 Crore After Govt Dumped Wheat in Market to Check Inflation

The Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) has estimated that farmers in the country lost significantly after the government dumped wheat in the market in a bid to control surging inflation. In March 2023, CPI inflation fell to a 15-month low of 5.66 percent compared to 6.95 percent reported a year back. This was at the cost of farmers. In 2022-23, India produced 112 metric tonnes of wheat. Close to half of which was Panjab’s contribution. In 2023-24, a quintal of wheat was sold at a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,125, and at Rs 2,673 in the open market. In February this year, the government launched the open market sale scheme (OMSS) to sell wheat at Rs 2,350 per quintal, further lowered to Rs 2,150 per quintal. Without this market intervention, farmers could have potentially earned an additional Rs 548 per quintal (Rs 2,673 minus Rs 2,125) resulting in a loss of around Rs 40,000 crore.