Rain threatens wheat stocks in India

Inclement weather in India’s Punjab state is threatening 5.5 million tonnes of procured wheat, about 45% of the total, that has yet to be lifted and properly stored, according to a Times of India report, citing official government data.

The data shows about 12.2 million tonnes had arrived in grain markets across Punjab as of May 4 with government purchases totaling 11.1 million tonnes and private traders acquiring 971,000 tonnes. Only 6.7 million tonnes was lifted into storage, about 55%, and the rate of lifting within 72 hours after procurement was 63%.

Farmers and commission agents have raised concerns about the heighted risk of moisture damage due to ongoing unseasonal rainfall, particularly due to a lack of sufficient modern grain storage infrastructure. Stakeholders have urgently called for accelerating grain storage, warning of potential large-scale losses.

India’s 2024-25 marketing year nationwide wheat harvest is projected to reach 113.2 million tonnes from 31.8 million hectares, according to a recent report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture. India is the No. 2 producer of wheat in the world after China.

India is planning to triple its wheat storage capacity over the next three years to 9 million tonnes, up from the current 2.8 million tonnes, according to a January report from the Financial Express.

The expansion is part of the Indian government’s $15 billion investment to create an additional 700 lakh tonnes (70 million tonnes) of grain storage capacity over the next five years by constructing thousands of warehouses and bins throughout India. The stated goal is to construct enough grain storage capacity to store 100% of India’s grain production.

If successfully implemented, the scheme is expected to decrease the amount of inadequately stored grain, reduce the need for long-distance transportation, lower transportation costs and improve the efficiency of the supply chain.

Tags: investment, purchases, storage capacity, markets, harvest, grain, weather, rainfall, Production, wheat, India