April 8, 2025
           

India may see 115 million tonnes of wheat harvest in 2025-26 marketing year

 

 

India is heading for its third consecutive record wheat harvest in the coming marketing year (2025-26) at 115 million tonnes (MT) due to record planting and favorable weather conditions in major growing states, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) stated in a report.

 

The projection of record wheat harvest by the US agency comes after the agriculture ministry last month estimated the grain output at 115.3 MT during 2024-25 crop years (July-June), an increase of 2% over the previous year.

 

The USDA also stated that despite improved domestic supplies, India is unlikely to remove the export ban which was imposed (in May 2022) on price inflation concerns, with exports limited to neighboring countries on geopolitical concerns.

 

"Despite relatively weak global wheat prices, high import duties (40%) continue to constraint import prospects for wheat and wheat products in the upcoming season," the USDA said. The agency stated that India's record wheat output from 32.6 million hectares (Mha) assuming normal weather through harvest till the end of this month.

 

"Wheat output is definitely likely to be better than the projected 115 MT, itself a record, given the current crop conditions," Ratan Tiwari, director of the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, told FE recently. The trade has projected an output of 110 MT for the current season against 106 MT in 2023-24 season.

 

Wheat sowing this season has increased to 32 Mha against 31.56 Mha last year and higher than the average sown area of the last five year.

 

The procurement of wheat by agencies including Food Corporation of India and state government agencies from the farmers for the 2025-26 marketing year (April-June) has started on a brisk note.

 

The agencies have purchased over two million tonnes (MT) of wheat under minimum support price (MSP) operations from farmers till April 5 against just 0.45 MT of grain purchased during the same period last year. This is because of early purchase and robust arrivals of wheat in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat starting two weeks back.

 

Arrivals of wheat in mandis across Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,  and Gujarat so far have been 3.8 MT against just 1.53 MT of grain arrival year back.

 

The procurement operations in Punjab and Haryana, two biggest contributors to the central pool stock, have just commenced which is likely to peak in the next couple of weeks.

 

The government is aiming to buy 31 MT of wheat purchased from farmers under MSP from mainly Punjab (12.4 MT), Haryana (7.5 MT), Madhya Pradesh (6 MT), Uttar Pradesh (3 MT), Rajasthan (2 MT), and Gujarat (0.1 MT) in the 2025-26 season.

 

In the 2024-25 marketing year, the agencies had purchased 26.6 MT of wheat while around 18.4 MT of grain was required for allocation under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana or free ration scheme annually.

- Financial Express