New Delhi, India – Nearly a decade ago, Harman Brar, now 38, gave up on a career in business management and returned to his ancestral village to take up farming. After years of low crop prices, Brar, like millions of farmers across India, was relieved to see prices of oilseeds and grains soaring through 2021 and surpassing previous highs in March this year, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It was an opportunity to recoup past losses. But late in the evening on May 13 when India banned wheat exports to tame local prices, Brar felt slighted.
“It is the farmers’ interest that is often sacrificed to keep consumer prices low”, Brar said over the phone from his village in Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan state of northern India.
As global wheat prices soared following the Ukraine war, farmers in India sold their harvest at a 10-15 percent premium over the government’s announced minimum support price. Many held on to their produce, expecting prices to rise further even as traders bought quality harvest in a frenzy.
The bullishness was driven by India’s exuberance, with none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming India is capable of feeding the world and...
English (US) ·