With the final sowing started, India’s wheat production is predicted to exceed 114 million tons in 2023-24. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) expects wheat cultivation and sowing to grow this year.
A senior food ministry official predicted 114 million tonnes of wheat production in the 2023-24 crop year due to favorable circumstances and improved coverage. Wheat, the main rabi crop, is in its last sowing phase until the following week. Wheat was sown across 320.54 lakh hectares by last week, according to official data. From July to June 2022-23, wheat production reached a record 110.55 million tonnes, up from 107.7 million tonnes.
Food Corporation of India (FCI) Chairman and Managing Director Ashok K Meena told reporters, “We expect wheat cultivation to increase this year and, God willing, 114 million tonne of production if the climate is right.” He also noted an increase in wheat crop land compared to last year. Meena said certain states’ 1% deficits will be made up in the first week of January.
“If that is the level of production, we are very confident that we will be able to procure more than our requirement and also additional stocks needed for the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) for next year,” the FCI head said. The FCI chief said, “We will make every effort to ensure the minimum support price (MSP) for all farmers.” The opening wheat balance of 76 lakh tonnes scheduled for April 1 is only enough to meet the buffer requirement. Open market transactions suggest prices have steadied and are not higher than last year. We expect many farmers would donate to the FCI since the wheat MSP is 7% higher than last year.”
The FCI bought 26.2 million tonnes of wheat last year, exceeding the 18.4 million-tonne buffer. From April, this year’s wheat will be harvested. The central nodal agency, FCI, buys rice and wheat to ensure MSP for farmers and distributes it free to 81 crore people through ration stores. It boosts domestic availability and controls pricing with surplus grain via OMSS.
Reduce wheat and rice inflation using OMSS
FCI reports that 5.9 million tonnes of wheat have been sold in the open market through weekly OMSS e-auctions since June 2023, stabilising retail prices. “There has been hardly any increase in retail wheat prices on YoY basis,” the FCI Chairman stated. Wheat OMSS will end on March 15. But with rice, there is “of course an uptick in prices visible in the open market but the mere fact that we are making huge quantity of rice available through OMSS, I hope that the prices will also not increase substantially” , added.
Rice under OMSS has received lukewarm response, as the FCI has sold only 1.45 lakh tonnes at Rs 29 per kg through weekly auctions.
The FCI is intervening in two important commodity markets with 15.6 million tonnes of surplus foodgrain. “OMSS intervention stabilized these two commodity prices. We want food-related inflation to be as low as feasible since rice and wheat are significant CPI components “FCI chief.
Conclusion
The final phase of sowing for wheat, the principal rabi crop, has begun in India, where wheat production is expected to exceed 114 million tonnes in 2023-24. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) Chairman and Managing Director Ashok K Meena predicted that wheat cultivation and sowing will improve this year. The FCI expects to buy more than they need for the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) next year. The FCI bought 26.2 million tonnes of wheat last year, exceeding the 18.4 million-tonne buffer. Since wheat and rice are essential CPI basket components, the FCI is intervening in the market with 15.6 million tonnes of surplus foodgrain inventories.
