Government cuts wheat output in third advance estimate

NEW DELHI: India’s 2014-15 wheat production is set to be lower than last year’s record output, the government’s latest estimates show, as bad weather affected the crop. But the drop is unlikely to make any impact on retail prices, feel traders, as government grain procurement agency Food Corporation of India is sitting on piles of stock.

In its third advance estimate, the government has cut the estimate on wheat output to 90.78 million tonnes from the February estimate of 95.76 million tonnes. Last year, the output was arecord 95.85 million tonnes.

"The decline will be offset by the absence of exports this year. The FCI has huge stocks and there is nothing to worry about," said Tejinder Narang, a grain analyst. According to him, FCI on April 1 had stocks of more than 41 million tonnes, including 17 million tonnes from the previous year. The agriculture ministry said the 2014-15 kharif crops suffered due to a bad monsoon.