India's wheat stocks dwindle to a 6-year low of 8.34 MMT, down 57% YoY

Last year, in the month of April, the wheat stocks in the country stood at 18.9 MMT and there were concerns regarding the wheat stocks in the country

According to Food Corporation of India (FCI) data, the country's wheat stocks are at 8.345 million metric tonnes (MMT). The stock is at a six-year low. It is only the second time in a decade that the opening stock of wheat in the country has fallen below 8.5 MMT, reports Dainik Bhaskar (DB). 
 

Wheat stocks are down 57 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. Last year, in April, the wheat stocks in the country stood at 18.9 MMT, and there were concerns regarding the wheat stocks in the country.

Unseasonal rains in March may have added to the pressure. However, the report adds that these rains did not lead to significant crop losses. While it rained earlier, experts believed that a 25 to 30 per cent crop loss was imminent. However, the harvest shows that the loss has been limited to 10 per cent, the report adds.

 

Year	Stock (MMT)
2014	24.20
2015	17.22
2016	14.53
2017	8.05
2018	13.23
2019	16.99
2020	24.70
2021	27.30
2022	18.99
2023	8.345

Last 10 year data on country's wheat stocks (Taken from DB Report)

Year	Procurement (MMT)
2013-14	25.07
2014-15	28.13
2015-16	28.08
2016-17	22.96
2017-18	30.82
2018-19	35.79
2019-20	34.13
2020-21	38.99
2021-22	43.34
2022-23	18.79

Last 10 year data on government wheat procurement (Taken from DB Report)
 

It is important to note that last year, the procurement target was 44.4 MMT which was later reduced to 19.5 MMT. However, only 18.792 MMT of wheat was finally procured. Last year's procurement was the lowest in 15 years, the report said.

Public Distribution System (PDS) data shows that the government distributed an average of 40 MMT of wheat in the last three years. The current wheat stock is 8.345 MMT, and the government intends to procure 34.15 MMT this year.