Wheat area to move up

Farmers in India, the world's third-biggest wheat importer last year, may plant the crop on a record area to take advantage of higher prices after supplies dwindled and demand increased.

The area planted with the crop may exceed 29 million hectares (72 million acres), up from 28.5 million hectares last year, B Mishra, head of Directorate of Wheat Research, a state body that develops high-yield seeds, said in an interview yesterday.

A bigger harvest may reduce the pressure on the country to import wheat, and cap world prices that have risen 64 per cent this year. India, the world's second-biggest user of the grain, bought 1.3 million metric tonnes since July to build reserves. The government said last month it aims to produce 75.5 million tonnes next year, the most in seven years.

"The way prices are moving in the international market I'm sure our farmers will sow more and help us achieve our target,'' Mishra said by phone from Karnal in Haryana, one of the nation's biggest wheat-growing states.

Wheat prices on the Chicago Board of Trade set record highs 23 times in the three months ended September 28 after weather hurt crops from Canada to Australia. Global reserves will fall to 107 million tonnes from 122.7 million tonnes last year, the US Department of Agriculture said on October 12.

Record prices prompted the Indian government to raise the minimum price it pays to wheat growers for their crop by 18 per cent to Rs 1,000 rupees ($25) for 100 kilograms. Wheat makes up more than 73 percent of India's total winter food grain production.

Better availability
The US farmers are responding to high prices by sowing more wheat. Some 73 per cent of the winter wheat crop was planted as of October 14, compared with 58 per cent a week earlier, the USDA said in a report on October 15. Wheat prices in Chicago have fallen 15 per cent from September 28.

"Availability of wheat will be much better next year as farmers worldwide will plant more,'' Atul Chaturvedi, president at Adani Enterprises,said.

Reserves at state-run warehouses totalled 10.9 million tonnes on September 7, Alok Sinha, the Chairman of Food Corporation said. With the recent imports, the nation may have stockpiles of 5 million tonnes by April 1, more than the 4 million tonnes required to meet emergencies, he said.

The Indian government requires 1 million tonnes of the grain a month to distribute to the poor. The crop, sown from October through December, is harvested in March and April.