SECTORAL TERMS OF TRADE 69 their counterparts in the rice growing areas. In the Eastern and Inland Eastern regions, 90 percent of the cropped area is under food grains, whereas in the case of Western region, 70 percent of area is under food grains, in the Inland Western 79 percent and in the.Northen region 85 percent. Tlie Western region also specializes in cotton, sugarcanc and groundnuts. Th? cropping pattern of rice growing areas is less diversified compared to the wheat growing areas. In the Inland Western region, along with wheat, jowar is also produced and so also is the case wph the Northern region. Given disparities in growth rates in the rice and wheat regions of the state, a rise in the price of wheat of more than 100 percent between 1964-65 and 1971-72, and of only 70 percent in the price of rice, must have benefited the wheat growing regions to a greater extent. In the case of rice, most of cultivators arc small farmers and share-croppers who arc weak and unorganized. In contrast, the bulk of wheat crop and cotton crop is raised in relatively large sized holdings. Thus we find that movement of terms of trade in favour of agriculture would benefit large cultivators in certain regions. The landless labourers, small artisans and small farmers are net purchasers of food grains from the market. They have bsen adversely affected by the rise in farm prices. The instrument of terms of trade has not been deployed to reduce intra-regional disparities. Rather it has become an instrument of exploitation. Given the distribution of assets in the rural economy, the resulting gains have been mostly monopolized by the surplus producing farms and their trading partners. The vast superstructure of institutional credit and other agencies has helped in this process. This is quite in tune with the power balance in the country. The above discussion brings us to the conclusion that the question of terms of trade should not be studied in isolation from the socio-cultural structure of the economy. The organic relationship between distribution of assets and incomes, on the one hand, and the structure of prices, on the other, needs to be thoroughly probed into. The terms of trade articulate class interests and reflect deeper issues related to distribution of assets and mode of production. 1 RK Sampath and C Gopinath, ^Land Distribution in India—Its Nature and Economic Implications", Margin, Vol II, No 3, April 1969.