Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on May 24 that India's wheat harvest will fall by seven to eight percent this year.
Goyal who was speaking at a World Economic Forum session titled ‘India At 75: Strategic Outlook’ in Davos, Switzerland, added that India’s wheat production this year will be just sufficient for domestic consumption. He clarified that India never was a traditional player in the international wheat market until two years ago when the country exported a small batch of two million tonnes of wheat; last year the amount exported went up to around seven million, which was essentially the surplus that was available to be sold.
Also read: India prohibits wheat exports with immediate effect
Coming to why India’s wheat harvest may be down this year, the Union minister said: “Sadly, due to the severe heatwave that swept most parts of north India, wheat had to be harvested early this year and we lost out on production. As a result, initial estimates could be down up to eight percent and by the time we get the final figures, the number could be slightly more.”
He added that the slight surplus that India had has already been exported and we will continue to allow exports to governments in need or friendly governments.
His comments come even as the country’s wheat output is estimated to drop by about three percent to 106.41 million tonnes in the 2021-22 crop year (July-June) from the previous year, as per the Agriculture Ministry’s latest estimates. Wheat production is, however, lower by 4.61 percent from the earlier estimate of 111.32 million tonnes projected for the 2021-22 crop year, the data showed.
As regards the overall issue of food inflation, it is still at a very much manageable level, Goyal said. He explained that rice has not seen any significant inflation yet, while wheat has seen some inflation which is not at a very disturbing level. The prices of some fruits and vegetables have gone up, such as tomatoes, which go up every year around this time. Rather, this year the price of tomatoes did not go up as much and has in fact started to come down. Further, the production of onions and potatoes, which are two sensitive items, is expected to be good this year; all the indications are right, and prices are on the lower end of the scale too.
The minister added: “My own sense is that the package food industry may make a little buck or two extra because there will be some people willing to pay for it, but at the lower end the common man will not feel the pain of food inflation.”
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