Wheat sowing up 25 per cent this Rabi season; wholesale price of wheat also rises

Wheat acreage has increased by 25 per cent so far in the ongoing Rabi season at 255.76 lakh hectares, mainly on higher sowing areas in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Madhya Pradesh (MP), as per government data. The area under coverage for wheat, which is the major crop in the Rabi (winter-sown) season, stood at 203.91 lakh hectares (ha) in the same period last year. The sowing of Rabi crops starts in October.

Higher areas have been reported from UP (20.09 lakh ha), MP (13.48 lakh ha), Rajasthan (5.32 lakh ha), Gujarat (2.61 lakh ha), Maharashtra (2.43 lakh ha), Bihar (2.24 lakh ha), Punjab (1.32 lakh ha) and Haryana (1.28 lakh ha).

An increase in wheat sowing area augurs well for the country as the domestic production had fallen to 106.84mn tonnes (mt) in the 2021-22 crop year (July-June) from 106.84 mt in the previous year. In May this year, the government banned exports of wheat to boost domestic supplies and control prices.

Wheat procurement by state-owned FCI fell to 187.92 lakh tonnes (lt) in the 2022-23 marketing year from 434.44 lt due to a fall in domestic output and aggressive purchases by private parties.

According to data as on December 9, paddy acreage has increased to 11.86 lakh ha so far from 10.42 lakh ha.

Pulses have been sown in 127.07 lakh ha so far as against 123.77 lakh ha, with the area under gram rising to 89.42 lakh ha from 87.28 lakh ha. The area under coverage for coarse cereals has risen to 36.39 lakh ha from 32.05 lakh ha.

In the non-foodgrain category, the area under coverage for oilseeds has increased to 95.19 lakh ha from 87.65 lakh ha. Mustard, the main oilseeds crop in the Rabi season, rose to 87.95 lakh ha from 80.78 lakh ha. India imports about 60 per cent of its edible oil requirement. Therefore, the increase in the mustard seeds acreage will boost the domestic output of mustard oil.

The total sowing area under Rabi crops has increased to 526.27 lakh ha so far from 457.80 lakh ha in the corresponding period last year.

Meanwhile, the average wholesale price of wheat rose 22 per cent across India to Rs 2,721 per quintal in November from Rs 2,228 per quintal in January this year, government data showed.

"The prices of agricultural produce, including wheat, are determined by the demand and supply conditions in the market, international prices, etc.," Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar informed the Rajya Sabha.

As per the data, all-India monthly average wholesale prices of wheat stood at Rs 2,228 per quintal in January, Rs 2,230 in February, Rs 2,339 in March, Rs 2,384 in April, Rs 2,352 in May, Rs 2,316 in June, Rs 2,409 in July, Rs 2,486 in August, Rs 2,516 in September, Rs 2,571 in October and Rs 2,721 per quintal in November. Prices for October and November are provisional.

The Centre imposed a ban on wheat exports in May to control prices.

"Wheat production has declined marginally from 109.59 mt in 2020-21 to 106.84 mt in 2021-22 and the all-India yields of wheat declined in 2021-22 to 3,507 kg/ha from 3,521 kg/ha in 2020-21 due to severe heat wave during March and April 2022 in major wheat-growing states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan," the minister said.

The procurement of wheat in the Rabi marketing season (April-June) of 2022-23 fell to 187.92 lt as against 433.44 lt in 2021-22 as the market price of wheat was higher than the ruling minimum support price (MSP) during the period, he added.