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With 34% share, UP is largest producer of wheat in India
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Friday, 01 January, 2016, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Sateesh Kulkarni
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fiogf49gjkf0d Background
- India’s wheat production has increased in last 10 years at CAGR of 2.89 per cent
- Area under wheat cultivation has also increased in last 10 years at CAGR of 1.60 per cent
Global Production
- China is the leading wheat producer followed by India and Russia in terms of individual countries. However, as a group of countries European Union (EU) is the largest producer.
- India’s share in global wheat production is 13.1 per cent in the year 2013-14.
- US is the world’s leading wheat exporting country followed by the EU and Russia in 2013-14.
- India’s share in global exports was around
3.3 per cent in the year 2013-14.
Wheat Production in North India
Wheat is one of the most important crops in India and grown in a large area in the country. India stands at second position in wheat production in the world and in the year 2013-2014, wheat production crossed the mark of 95 million tonne.
Wheat is an important Rabi crop, which is grown between September and December and harvested between February and May.
Uttar Pradesh
The state of Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of wheat, accounting for over 34 per cent of the wheat produced in India. It has the largest area under wheat. It is grown in almost every part of the state; but the greatest concentration is in the western part.
The important wheat producing districts of the state of Uttar Pradesh are Meerut, Aligarh, Agra, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Bulandshahar, Kanpur and Mathura.
Punjab
The state ranks second (accounting for about 20 per cent of the total) in wheat production in India. The important wheat producing districts in Punjab are Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Patiala and Amritsar.
Haryana
It occupies the third place in wheat production among the states of India. The important districts of this state are Hissar, Ambala, Jind, Rohtak and Faridabad.
Madhya Pradesh
It ranks the fourth position in wheat production. The main wheat producing districts of Madhya Pradesh are Sagar, Jabalpur, Sehare, Gwalior, Indore and Ujjain.
Major Mandis for Wheat
Kanpur, Mathura, Bhopal, Indore and Khanna (Punjab) are the major wheat marketing centres (mandi).
Other Wheat Producing States
The other wheat producing states of India are Rajasthan (Ganganagar, Kota etc.); Bihar (Saran, Champaran, Gaya, Patna); Maharashtra; Gujarat; West Bengal; Karnataka; Jammu and Kashmir; Himachal Pradesh; and Jharkhand.
Production
The average wheat production of the country is more than 1,200 kg per hectare. The yield is higher on irrigated lands. Punjab and Haryana have the highest yields (above 1,520 kg per hectare). The production has been steadily raised due to the introduction of high yielding varieties, such as Sonara, Hira, Moti, Sonalika and Kalyan Sona. These are selected from the original Mexican dwarf wheat and they give much higher yields.
India's wheat production in the upcoming 2015-16 season will remain elevated, due to favourable weather and the increase in the Minimum Support Price for the grain. The government is in the process of reforming the Food Corporation of India in order to improve efficiency and increase private participation in the grain marketing system and improve efficiency. This brightens the outlook for India's wheat sector in the long term.
India's 2015-16 wheat crop is off to a good start.
Plantings are progressing well and are now around half complete, as the government reported acreage reached 16.2 mn hectare, up 1.5% year on year. This compares with 30.6 mn have harvested in 2013-14. Wheat production to remain elevated in 2015-16, extending the period of exceptional harvests recorded since 2012-13. The output will broadly stagnate year on year and come in at 95.5 mn tonne in 2015-16, compared with the 95.9 mn tonne reaped in 2014-15. The government forecasts output to decline by 2.0% year on year to 94.0 mn tonne.
Foreign Trade in Wheat
Trade Policy
Export Policy: Export of wheat is free under export
policy of Government of India as of now.
Import Policy: Import of seeds is restricted. Whereas, import of wheat for human consumption is permitted through State Trading Enterprises.
Wheat exports in 2014/15 and 2015/16 are likely to decline compared with the exceptional levels reached in 2012/13 and 2013/14. Exports are likely to come in around 3.0 mn tonne this season and in 2015/16, down 49% compared with 2013/14. The production surplus will stagnate year on year in 2014/15 at around 5.2 mn tonne and decrease significantly in 2015/16, to 2.4 mn tonne, limiting export supply. Moreover, Indian prices are quite uncompetitive relative to international prices, as the MSP for wheat was raised every season over recent years, supporting domestic prices.
Select Companies Involved in Wheat Trade
Merchant Agri (India) Pvt Ltd; Star Agriwarehousing and Collateral Management Limited; and Mohan Mutha Exports Pvt. Ltd.
(The author is director, Corporate Catalyst India Pvt. Ltd. He can be contacted at sateesh.kulkarni@cci.in)
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