Although wheat acreage in the top four producing states, where yields are relatively higher, was slightly higher than a year ago, the industry expects harvest to begin in March and is not speculating on production because of the risk of adverse weather conditions for the grain. in the execution phase, said Rajnikant Rai, Managing Director of ITC Agribusiness Division. The area under wheat was higher this season at 239.79 lakh hectares (lh) in the top four producing states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana till December 29 as against 237.37 lh during the year 1 percent. These four states share more than 75 percent of the country’s total wheat production and 93 percent of the Central Pool share. The government has set a target of 114 million tonnes (mt) of wheat production for this season. In 2022-2023, the Ministry of Agriculture announced a harvest of 110.55 million tons, while in 2021-2022 it was 107.74 million tons, private businesses and industry set a maximum of 105 million tons as last year’s harvest forecast. The ideal rainy season is late January or early February, adding that the temperature at maturity also plays an important role in yield or production. After crossing the season’s normal area of 307.32 lh, the all-India wheat area has reduced the deficit by about 4 lh compared to last year’s till December 29. According to the latest data, the area under wheat cultivation reached 320.54 Lh against 324 Lh. a one percent decrease from a year ago.
The deficit was 2 percent as of December 22. Regarding the total wheat area in the country, Rai said that the higher area in some states could also be due to timing, as normal planting compared to last year’s late start of sowing could give a different picture. “Wheat sowing is ongoing in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and is expected to continue till mid-January”. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that the cultivated area in Uttar Pradesh was 96.73 lh on December 29, 94.96 lh a year ago, 84.63 lh this year, 83.95 lh in Madhya Pradesh last year, 34.9 lh flat 23.53 lh in Haryana. But Rajasthan reported a wheat area of 28.4 lh, down 3 percent from 29.37 lh, and Bihar reported a 7 percent lower area of 18.64 lh compared to 19.98 lh.