Ram Gopal Yadav

Australian farmers maintain wheat acreage during the 2017-18 season at a near three-year high and rejecting incentives to plant alternative crops amid low prices and unfavourable weather forecasts. Estimates wheat acreage for the coming season at 13.4 million hectares (33.1 million acres), down just one percent from the 2016-17 season.

Deputy Commissioner, Rajiv Prashar said, to buy 4.65 lakh metric tonnes of wheat this year against the last year 4.49 lakh metric tonnes and also pay money to the farmers within 48 hours after procuring their wheat. All arrangements, including water facility and public toilets, etc have been made. Ensuring that lifting of the crop within 72 hours after its arrival in the market. The procurement will conclude on April 30. Prashar requested farmers not to rush their crop to the grain market before properly drying it. Wheat can be procured only at the permissible moisture limit of 12%. A total of six agencies including Pungrain (Punjab Grains Procurement Corporation), PUNSUP (Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation), Markfed, Agro, Warehouse and FCI (Food Corporation of India) are purchasing the wheat crop here. A total of 68 purchase centres have been opened in the district, including 31 in Faridkot city, 16 in Kotkapura, and 21 in Jaitu.

Turkish wheat stocks are growing extremely tight due to economic uncertainty and a ban on Russian imports. US officials warned, with supplies implied to fall to less than two weeks of demand by the end of next season. The bureau cut its ideas of 2016-17 imports by 800,000 tonnes, to 4.0m tonnes and imports are seen rising to 4.5 million tonnes in 2017-18 due to ongoing demand for high quality wheat from flour and pasta exporters. By the end of 2017-18, stocks are seen falling to just 648,000 tonnes and assuming the uncertain economic environment continues to discourage stocking. The bureau forecast implies a stock to use ratio at an eye-wateringly tight 3.7%, enough for less than two weeks of consumption.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture in its April 11 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report raised its forecast for 2017 U.S. Wheat carryover by 3% from its March forecast to near a 30-year high. The USDA also raised its soybean carryover forecast by 2% from March but left corn carryover unchanged. USDA forecast the carryover of wheat on June1, 2017, at 1.159 billion bushels, up 30 million bushels from 1.129 billion bushels forecast last month and up 183 million bushels, or 19%, from 976 million bushels in 2016. USDA forecast was above the average but within the range of pre-report trade expectations.

Prices of wheat fell in major wholesale markets of the country due to high availability of the grain in spot markets and on anticipation of higher arrivals in the coming days. Arrivals in Punjab begin nearly 7-10 days ago and about 1,000 tonne of the grain arrive daily in Amritsar. Arrivals may rise to 2,000-2,500 tonne in the coming days.

Around 9,11,150 MT of wheat is expected to arrive in grain markets of the district. Bathinda Deputy Commissioner Diprava Lakra gave this information after conducting a visit to the grain markets at Talwandi Sabo, Bhagi Vander and Kotshamir to view arrangements for the wheat procurement process. Six procurement agencies would procure wheat in 182 grain markets of the district. Complete arrangements were in place at mandis and facilities for farmers, labourers and commission agents were also being ensured. The arrival of wheat would gain momentum in the days to come and agencies including Punsup, Pungrain, Punjab Warehouse, FCI and Markfed would procure wheat in the district.

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Spot wheat down as supplies rise in Madhya Pradesh.

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Indian private traders import 44 lakh tonnes wheat in Apr-Feb FY17.