Rain and hailstorm forecast over Northern wheat belt

NEW DELHI: The weather office has forecast rain accompanied by thunder squalls with hail over the wheat, corn and mustard belt of northwest and central India in the next 24 hours.

This could come as a blow to farmers who have started harvesting or whose crops are at the maturing stage. Traders said that they were watching the situation and expected price increases in case the weather turns bad.

The current crop of wheat, mustard and corn is of superior quality compared with that of the previous year. “Weather forecasts still show the possibility of further hailstorms which can impact the standing wheat crop of Madhya Pradesh in some areas,” said Rajiv Yadav, vice-president, grains and oilseed, Noble Agri. “The pipelines of millers are dry and any delay in harvest due to rain and with possible damage to quality can lead to a rise in prices in the near future.” Companies said weather in the next three weeks will play a critical role for wheat, mustard, corn and pulses. (See www.economictimes.com)