Punjab and Harlan appear to have toppled off the wheat map for country's private sector as companies decide to focus wholly on UP, MP and Rajasthan for procurement this year. Keen to cash in on this profitable trend, MP will double the sales tax on grains and pulses from April 1. A sales tax of four % will be levied on all branded staples like rice sold within MP, and all bulk grains and pulses if they are transported to others states for processing. All the large grain procurement, handling and processing companies, including ITC, Cargill and Congra's Agro Tech Foods, have decided to concentrate on UP, MP and Rajasthan as these states offer good quality wheat without artificially high prices benchmarked to the MSP. Other players like Hindustan Liver too are expected to follow a similar strategy. |
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