Wheat Planting in India Is Gaining Traction With Area Increasing by Over 10%

According to the most recent figures from the Agricultural Ministry released on Friday, Indian farmers have planted wheat on 4.5 million hectares since the start of the current sowing season in October, an increase of 9.7% from a year earlier.

With additional data from state governments, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare will continue to update the preliminary crop sowing estimates. The Northern Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and the Central state of Madhya Pradesh are where wheat is mostly grown. The planting estimates are also susceptible to change based on the weather.

Growers said that late rainfall in October and November increased soil moisture levels and enabled farmers to plant additional land with wheat as their primary winter crop. The rise in acreage under wheat and other main rabi crops like mustard has created a temporary shortage of main fertilizers like DAP and urea in the market with farmers hurrying to plant crops early to take advantage of residual soil moisture.

India only produces one crop of wheat each year, which is harvested starting in March after being planted in October and November. India, the second-largest producer of wheat in the world, was forced to impose a ban on the commodity's exports in May of this year after an abrupt rise in temperatures in March which reduced crop yields.

The government is considering steps including releasing state stockpiles into the open market and eliminating the 40% import tax in an effort to lower wheat prices, which have risen to record highs despite the embargo.

According to sources, the government might sell 2-3 million tonnes of its current stock of wheat in the central pool to assist calm the market, although it is uncertain when this would happen.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concerns over India's soaring vegetable oil import bill after New Delhi spent a record $18.99 billion on vegetable oil imports in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022. Indian-developed genetically modified mustard seeds, a member of the rapeseed family, have received environmental approval from New Delhi as part of attempts to lessen India's reliance on imported edible oil.