Area under wheat rises, govt expects robust rabi harvest
NEW DELHI: The agriculture ministry expects a robust rabi or winter-sown harvest, especially of wheat, next year after extreme weather roiled several crops during the 2021-22 season, with the acreage as on November 28 already exceeding 57% of the total normal-sown area, latest official data showed.
Farmers have planted wheat, the main winter staple, in approximately 15.2 million hectares till November 28, compared to 13.8 million hectares in the corresponding period of last year.
Higher wheat area has been reported from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, the data showed.
Going by the rapid early expansion, the staple’s output could exceed that of last season, analysts said. Sufficient wheat output during 2022-23 will be critical to replenish stocks after a prolonged early-summer heatwave this year cut output of the staple by 3 million tonne, sending the government’s own stocks to a 14-year low and pushing up retail prices.
India’s wheat output during 2021-22 stood at 106 million tonne, compared to the previous year’s 109 million tonne. “For wheat, there is an increase in area coverage by 1.4 million hectare over last year and this has been the highest ever since last four years,” an agriculture ministry statement said.
As international wheat prices soared following the Ukraine war, India’s wheat shipments accelerated, prompting the government to ban export in May to stabilise domestic prices. Yet, retail prices of wheat remain elevated. Prices of wheat flour (atta) have jumped 17% in the past one year due to a shortage of the staple in open markets, millers have said, urging the government to release grains from its own reserves.
Lower supplies have led wheat flour prices -- at an all-India daily average retail price of ₹36.98 per kg -- almost equalling that of rice, which stands at ₹37.96 per kg, data from the consumer affairs ministry shows.
After a heatwave shriveled winter crops this year, a patchy monsoon shrunk the paddy area by 4%. Farmers also planted marginally lesser area under pulses, another essential item during the summer-sown kharif season. “If the current trends hold, the wheat area and, as a result, the total production are likely to be marginally higher than last year. If the ban on wheat export continues till next year, then prices will be lower and the government’s procurement of wheat will be higher than the last season,” said Rahul Chauhan, an analyst with IGrain Pvt Ltd, a commodity trading firm.