Lucknow: A delegation of retail agricultural product traders from Uttar Pradesh, led by Sanjay Gupta, State President of the Uttar Pradesh Adarsh Vyapar Mandal, met Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak and Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Roshan Jacob on Monday to raise key issues faced by small scale fertilizer dealers across the state.
The delegation submitted a memorandum demanding that the government regulate the procurement prices at which retail fertilizer dealers purchase products from manufacturers and wholesale distributors.
Sanjay Gupta told the officials that while the government has fixed retail selling prices for fertilizers like urea (₹266.50), DAP (₹1350.00), and NPK, no such guidelines exist for procurement prices at the retail level. This allows manufacturers and large wholesalers to arbitrarily set prices, often higher than the official Maximum Retail Price (MRP), forcing small retailers to buy at inflated rates.
“This price mismatch pushes the cost price above the sale price, leading to losses for retailers,” Gupta said.
The delegation also highlighted a concern that fertilizer companies allegedly force retailers to buy additional agricultural products bundled with fertilizers. This compulsory purchase of low demand goods inflates inventory and locks up working capital.
The delegation demanded that the government also fix the procurement price for retailers, thereby preventing arbitrary pricing by producers and wholesalers. “Just as the selling price for farmers is regulated, a ceiling should be set on the prices charged to retailers to ensure fair play and protect small businesses,” the memorandum stated.
The delegation included key members from the “Retail Agricultural Traders Welfare Association,” including R.K. Kanojia (State President), Amit Kumar Gupta (State General Secretary), Desh Deepak Bajpai (State Vice President), and Avneesh Singh (State Organization Secretary).
Sanjay Gupta added that the association would soon seek a meeting with the Agriculture Minister to further highlight the grievances of retail fertilizer traders and push for policy-level intervention.
The traders stressed that unless the government steps in to curb monopolistic practices by manufacturers and wholesalers, the survival of the retail fertilizer sector which is critical to rural agricultural supply, would always remain under threat.
