January 26, 2006

India expect 3.5 percent increase in wheat output for 2005
 

India is expected to produce a record wheat output of 75.5 million tonnes for 2005, a 3.5 percent increase over 2004, the Food Ministry said in a report to Reuters on Wednesday.

Favourable weather over the past weeks in the northern wheat-producing regions have brightened the outlook this year. However, traders said more time was needed as the weather in the next few weeks would affect the crop.

The lack of winter rains so far made it difficult to tell what the final output will be like, said D.P. Singh, chairman of the All India Grain Exporters Association.

Indian wheat prices have been rising since December due to falling government stocks. The ministry said on Wednesday it had 6.2 million tonnes of wheat stocks as on Jan 1, sufficient to meet monthly requirement of 1.3 million tonnes until the new crop arrives in the northern Indian markets in late March.