The government anticipates a strong rabi crop this year, with yields reaching an all-time high of 114 million tones, despite worries about wheat inventories falling to a seven-year low. This allays worries that a grain scarcity might drive up retail costs. Wheat prices have been high for over a year, although they have somewhat decreased in the recent few months as a result of several government actions, such as the implementation of stock restrictions and vigorous open market sales.
The majority of yellow rust attack cases are typically recorded in late December or early January. Nevertheless, there have been no reports of a disease epidemic this year.
Major grain producer Madhya Pradesh begins harvesting wheat by the middle of March; other important states that produce wheat are Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Harvesting concludes by the end of March. The newest statistics from the agricultural ministry shows that the amount of wheat sown during the 2023–2024 season was a record 34 million hectares (mh), compared to 33.75 mh recorded during the same period the previous season. Soybean seeding is above the 30-73 mh average over the previous five years.
The government’s procurement push and wheat stocks, which had dropped to a seven-year low of 16.35 million tonne (MT) at the beginning of the month, will both benefit from a record crop this season. The current wheat stock is less than the 13.8 MT buffer.
The government began selling wheat on the open market from its stock in June in an effort to slow the price increase, and up until last week, it had offloaded 6.67 MT of grain.
