'Middlemen benefit the most in price rise'

NEW DELHI: Middlemen have walked away with most benefits, while consumers have bore the maximum brunt of price rise in the past five years, says a study by ASSOCHAM.

The study says the average difference between wholesale prices and the minimum support prices (MSPs) during 2002-07 was 33 per cent, while the consumers paid 60 per cent more than the wholesale price, says the study 'MSP Vs WSP and Their impact on Retail Prices'.

"Barring wheat and paddy, MSP and wholesale price (WSP) differential for pulses like moong, urad, gram and arhar on an average was 33 per cent during 2002-07 against their striking variance of 60 per cent in WSP and retail prices," the ASSOCHAM study said.

It shows that this gap hit equally hard both farmers and consumers with all the benefits reaching middlemen as farmers receive the MSPs which are decided by the government while consumers pay the rates which are decided by traders, the study said.

It said the price difference between MSP and WSP is unlikely to be reversed.

The study found the gap was highest in moong at 45 per cent in the review period. The difference was 38.8 per cent in chana (gram), 25.4 per cent in urad and 21.4 per cent in arhar.

However, the average differential was 60 per cent when the WSP was compared with retail prices at which consumers bought the commodities in the review period.