By Rajndra Jadhav and Meynk Brajwa
Indore, India (Reuters) – the strong wheat harvest in India quickly fill in the shares, which means that the country will be able to respond to domestic demand without imports this year, contrary to the market conversation that it will need overseas supplies and a potential reduction in global prices.
India banned the staple exports in 2022 and expanded the ban as exceptional heat harvests again in 2023 and 2024, draining reserves by pushing prices to record maximums and nourishes speculation that it would need imports for the first time from 2017.
But things are improving for the world wheat producer # 2, with purchases of early state inventory signaling that this year the harvest is about 4 million tonnes of more than last year, six industries and civil servants reported.
“After barely scraped away in recent years, the country finally seems to be out of the forest and is released from fear not to have to import wheat,” says Amit Takkar, the head of New Delhi-based consulting conifers.
The Grocery Corporation in India, the state stock, bought 29.7 million metric tonnes from novice wheat from local farmers – most in four years – after missing public procurement targets for three consecutive years.
Common FCI wheat purchases can increase to 32 million-32.5 million tonnes this year, said Food Minister Prahad Joshi earlier this month, adding to 11.8 million tonnes at the beginning of the marketing year on April 1.
This stock of approximately 44 million tonnes would significantly exceed the annual FCI requirement of 18.4 million tonnes to implement the largest food protection program in the world, which provides free grain to nearly 800 million people.
FCI’s advanced wheat reserves are sufficient to dispel the import prospects that maintains the global trade community, according to the six industrial and government officials.
As the world’s second largest consumer in the world does not need imports, global grain prices are likely to be pressure, as production remains strong in the best export countries such as Argentina, Australia and Canada, while the demand for imports from the best consumer China is weakening.
The global wheat prices are more than the reduced half of the record high 2022, sliding earlier this month to their lowest level for nearly five years.
Imports is prevented
Better time, more profitable climate seeds and adequate moisture in the soil from last year’s abundant monsoon rains have helped to improve this year’s wheat production in India. Nearly 15% of wheat prices in the last year – conditioned by another poor harvest – also encouraged farmers to move to wheat.