India’s Wheat Production Touches An All-Time High

India hit a record high this year by producing such an amount of wheat the country has never produced before. Favorable climate and an increase in government support prices encouraged more sowing. According to data, National Collateral Management Services published, wheat production rose by 6.3% to 109 million tons.

Ajay Kedia, managing director, Kedia Commodities, declares that record output is set to create storage problems for the government. Additionally, prices are likely to remain under pressure.

The New Delhi weather forecast and agricultural risk solutions provider Skymet has predicted wheat production in the country to grow by around 11% this year. Skymet report released on Tuesday says that last year’s monsoon and post-monsoon rains have been good for crops. Climatic conditions in the major wheat-producing states of Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh are favorable, availability of water is sufficient, and pest attacks are relatively negligible.

According to the report, last year, the monsoon received 10% more rainfall than the long-term average.

India Expects A 10-12% Increase in Wheat Production

Wheat production in India demonstrated an increasing trend. From 95.85 million tons in 2013-14, it has grown to 102.19 million tons. Agriculture and its allied sectors are the most significant source of income in India. Several measures have been taken by the Indian government to push production. The National Food Security Act (NFSA) entitled citizens to subsidize food grains. Wheat, along with paddy, is the essential staple across the country. They are also the cheapest sources of energy and protein for the sparse population. 70% of the country’s rural households still depend mainly on agriculture for their living. While 82% of farmers among them are still small and marginal.

Around 90 % of the country’s wheat comes from the traditional wheat-growing regions like Punjab, UP, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, and Rajasthan. Yet, the productivity in Haryana has decreased in recent years. In the meantime, states like Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, and Assam, which are not accessible in wheat production, have seen a growth in productivity of the Rabi crop.

Gyanendra Pratap Singh of the Directorate of Wheat Research at Karnal, Haryana, says that Wheat acreage has increased 26.27 percent to 29.7 million hectares this year, and that will lead to record output. Winter rains and cold wave conditions have been very beneficial for the wheat crop. It has helped in increasing tillering (an increase in the number of flower-bearing branches), which led to higher yield. Companies procuring wheat for the production of flour, dahlia, Rawa, maida, and suji said that they expected an overall increase of 10-12 percent in acreage.