Wheat output to go up on rise in acreage

The country may witness a bumper wheat crop this year following a rise in acreage in the ongoing rabi season.

The area under wheat cultivation has touched a record high of 280 lakh hectares till January 12, 5 per cent up over the last year's total acreage of 266.5 lakh hectares.

The rise in spot wheat prices to a high of Rs 1200-1300 per quintal, coupled with a Rs 100 hike in the Minimum Support Price to Rs 750 per quintal are being seen as the driving factors behind the rising acreage.

Last year, the country produced 695 lakh tonne of wheat.

As on January 11, chana acreage has gone up to 78.81 lakh hectares, up 5.5 per cent, compared with 74.69 lakh hectares in the corresponding period of 2005-06.

The area under rabi maize has also increased to 10.53 lakh hectares a jump of about 42 per cent over last year's corresponding acreage of 7.37 lakh hectares.

In Bihar, acreage has nearly doubled from 1.93 lakh hectares to 3.85 lakh hectares. However, the area under rapeseed and mustard cultivation has declined to 66.27 lakh hectares, down 9.5 per cent compared with 73.24 lakh hectares covered during the same period in 2005-06.

Farmers have diverted land to wheat and chana in mustard growing states like Rajasthan, Haryana, MP and UP owing to the bullishness in these commodities.