Wheat prices up as warm winter pares UP output

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh, India’s top wheat-producing state, has reaped a smaller than expected harvest this year as warm days in winter months took a toll on yields. The size of UP’s harvest is critical for India’s middle-class families as most traders and private companies go there to buy wheat for processing into atta, maida, bread, and biscuits.

The state’s wheat production, pegged at 300 lakh tonnes at the start of the harvest, is now likely to be around 285 lakh tonnes, UP agriculture director JP Tripathi said. The shortfall in UP’s production has already jacked up prices in the wholesale market which have increased more than 10% in the last few weeks across the country.

Tripathi said the heat wave gripped the state from March and this reduced the size of wheat grains by as much as 20%. This has resulted in the reduction of weight and hit the overall production target. Wheat production during the 2009 season too was around 285 lakh tonnes.

An agriculture department official said the figure could be lower than 285 lakh tonnes as some farmers have reported that their crops were completely destroyed due to the harsh summer. Some areas in the state reported cases of crops catching fire due to the intense heat.

The shortfall in production estimates has increased the prices to Rs 1,150/quintal in the wholesale market. The prices, which were around Rs 950-1,000/quintal when the market saw fresh arrival, have soared over the last weeks due to purchases by private players.

Government procurement agencies have been able to purchase only 17 lakh tonnes till now as against the target of 40 lakh tonnes this year due to the rising prices of wheat in the open market.