Indian Wheat Crop Slashed?
Untimely rain, wind & hail storms have hit wheat production in India's second largest wheat producing state of the Punjab, according to media reports. The state is an important one accounting for 44% of the Indian government's domestic wheat procurement in 2008.
The wheat crop in neighbouring Haryana state, also a major wheat producing area, has been badly affected too reports suggest.
Exactly how badly the crop has been affected is open to conjecture. The government are playing things down saying that production in the Punjab may fall 5 percent from 15.7 million tonnes a year ago.
It is well worth noting at this point that general elections start in India later this month. The government isn't going to be wanting to make any announcements about wheat shortages, even though it's wheat reserves are said to be more than adequate.
While the state government had estimated wheat production in the Punjab to be around 15 million tonnes, it would be lucky if production touches 10 million tonnes, according to the President of Bharti Kisan Union (BKU), Balbir Singh Rajewal. He accuses the Union government of ‘playing politics’ with wheat and rice.
In the midst of harvest India's antiquated grain storage system is falling apart. Large quantities of wheat are stored outside under plastic sheeting, at the mercy of the elements, pests & disease.
Covered space is currently only available to stack 2.9 million tonnes of food grains, whereas space for 11 million tonnes of food grains - including fresh arrivals onto the market from April 1 - is required, Rajewal says.
"We have the capacity to shell 2 million tonnes of paddy every month but we have curtailed our shelling to the bare minimum as covered space was not available to stack rice. At some places millers stopped shelling completely due to lack of space," said Tarsem Saini, president, Rice Millers Association.
Millions starve whilst food rots in fields due to inadequate infrastructure doesn't make much of an election campaign slogan does it?
The wheat crop in neighbouring Haryana state, also a major wheat producing area, has been badly affected too reports suggest.
Exactly how badly the crop has been affected is open to conjecture. The government are playing things down saying that production in the Punjab may fall 5 percent from 15.7 million tonnes a year ago.
It is well worth noting at this point that general elections start in India later this month. The government isn't going to be wanting to make any announcements about wheat shortages, even though it's wheat reserves are said to be more than adequate.
While the state government had estimated wheat production in the Punjab to be around 15 million tonnes, it would be lucky if production touches 10 million tonnes, according to the President of Bharti Kisan Union (BKU), Balbir Singh Rajewal. He accuses the Union government of ‘playing politics’ with wheat and rice.
In the midst of harvest India's antiquated grain storage system is falling apart. Large quantities of wheat are stored outside under plastic sheeting, at the mercy of the elements, pests & disease.
Covered space is currently only available to stack 2.9 million tonnes of food grains, whereas space for 11 million tonnes of food grains - including fresh arrivals onto the market from April 1 - is required, Rajewal says.
"We have the capacity to shell 2 million tonnes of paddy every month but we have curtailed our shelling to the bare minimum as covered space was not available to stack rice. At some places millers stopped shelling completely due to lack of space," said Tarsem Saini, president, Rice Millers Association.
Millions starve whilst food rots in fields due to inadequate infrastructure doesn't make much of an election campaign slogan does it?
