Wheat acreage till Nov 18 up 15% YoY, record open market prices spur sowing

Centre refutes the assertion of artificial shortage of fertilisers in country

Wheat sowing continued to gain momentum during the week ended November 18, as farmers hurried to make the best of the favourable weather, spurred on by record high open market prices.

According to the latest data, wheat has been planted in about 10.14 million hectares, about 15 per cent more than the area covered in the corresponding period last year. The mustard crop has seen a similar increase and has been planted in 6.32 million hectares. 

Experts said the sudden rush in sowing has created an artificial shortage of fertilisers at some places. However, the government refuted this.

The only major crop that reported a dip in acreage was gram (chana), the biggest pulse grown in India, which made up about 50 per cent of the pulse output in 2021-22. The area under the crop was estimated to have reduced 0.57 per cent as farmers appeared to have shifted to the more lucrative wheat and mustard in central and northern India, traders said.

A dip in gram output could raise prices and increase import dependency.
 

In total, rabi crops had been planted on 26.88 million hectares, which was 7.22 per cent more than the same period last year. Meanwhile, wheat prices continued to scale new highs in North India, almost touching Rs 2,800 a quintal in Delhi and adjoining areas.

Traders said the near absence of any sale from government warehouses and almost dry pipelines were supporting the uptrend in prices.The bigger issue is whether the government can afford another extension of the free foodgrain scheme— the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY)— beyond December, given the low stock level and pressure from private traders.Till November 10, paddy procurement in the central pool was estimated at 23.1 million tonnes (MT)— or 1.31 per cent more than the year-ago procurement –for the 2022-23 season that started in October.

In the season, the Centre plans to procure 77.1 MT of paddy, which is higher than the 75.9 MT procured last year.

No shortage of fertilisers, onus on states to ensure availability

Amid reports of a shortage of fertilisers in northern India, the Centre on Friday said there were adequate supplies of all plant nutrients available in the country and it was the responsibility of the states to ensure availability of fertilisers through proper intra and inter-district distribution. It said as on November 16, the availability of urea was 9.25 million tonnes against a requirement of 5.7 million tonnes, about 3.7 million tonnes of DAP was available against a requirement of 2.7 million tonnes, while 0.80 million tonnes of MOP was available, against a requirement of 0.20 million tonnes.