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The government does not plan to hike import duty on wheat to 25% from the current 10%. There was no immediate need to raise the duty, as prices were above the minimum support price in most market. Procurement was progressing well and the harvest this year was also good. The government had on Mar 28, imposed 10% customs duty on import of wheat to prevent fall in prices following a bumper crop in the country this year.

Madhya Pradesh is likely to produce a record 22.5 millon tonne wheat in the crop year ending June due to higher acreage and better yield. The second largest producer of wheat is 22% higher on year and even above the previous estimate of 21.0 millon tonne pegged in January. Higher minimum support price has also encouraged farmers to grow more wheat this year. Adequate showers during monsoon led to better yields for and wheat this year.

Wheat prices in major wholesale markets across the country were stable despite high arrivals, as government procurement restricted any fall. Mill-quality wheat was being sold unchanged from previous close. A total of 20,000-30,000 bags (1bag=100kg) of wheat arrive in Punjab daily and arrivals are likely to double by the end of April. Wheat prices were unchanged in other major markets of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Prices of the grain fell by 20-30 rupees in Delhi market due to high arrivals from Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. As of Tuesday, the government had procured 11.9 million tonne wheat for the current marketing year that started April, 13.7% higher than in the year-ago period. The May wheat contract on the NCDEX ended at 1,650 rupees per 100 kg, up 0.4% from previous close.

Production of wheat in Bangladesh is expected to be higher in 2017-18 (May-Apr). Production of wheat is rising in the country by 2.3% to 1.3 millon tonne because of higher acreage, which may grow by 5,000 ha to 420,000 ha.

In Indore, the grain was sold down 25 rupees from previous close. Around 750,000 bags (1bag=100kg) of wheat arrived in Madhya Pradesh up from 400,000 bags. In Delhi, another key wholesale market, 40,000 bags of wheat arrived dragging prices down 20 rupees. Futures contracts of wheat on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange ended higher due to bargain buying. The April contract of wheat ended up 0.2% from the previous close. Prices on the NCDEX had fallen earlier tracking a decline in spot markets on the back of an increase in supplies.

The government has procured 11.9 million tonne wheat so far in the current marketing year that started April, 13.7% higher than in the year-ago period. Haryana tops the procurement list, with farmers in the state selling 4.7 million tonne wheat to the government, higher than 4.5 million tonne a year ago. In Punjab, the government has so far purchased 3.7 million tonne wheat from farmers, up 21.5% from a year ago. The government has purchased 3.1 million tonne wheat in Madhya Pradesh, up 8% on year, while in Uttar Pradesh, it has bought 156,004 tn so far, sharply higher than 48,639 tonne in the year-ago period. The Uttar Pradesh government has set a target to procure 8 million tonne wheat this year, way above the central government’s 3-mln-tn target for the state. Overall, the central government has set wheat procurement target for this marketing season at 33 million tonne, up from 22.9 million tonne a year ago.