MP wheat demand shoots up globally amid Russia-Ukraine crisis

INDORE:  The demand for wheat varieties like Sharbati and Kathia grown in Madhya Pradesh has shot up in the international market amid short supply from Russia and Ukraine due to the ongoing war, an official said.

Madhya Pradesh State Agricultural Marketing Board's (MPSAMB) Managing Director Vikas Narwal said that the government procurement of wheat dipped by 30 per cent due to a sharp rise in prices in the open market.

"There is a steep rise in wheat export due to Russia-Ukraine crisis and mandis were seeing huge influx of this foodgrain," he said.

Narwal said that 1.76 lakh tonnes of wheat was exported from the state during the last marketing season, whereas about 2.5 lakh tonnes of what has been exported in the last one month of this marketing season alone. Two more months are still left for this marketing season to end, he added.

He said that traders were buying Sharbati and Kathia (durum) wheat from farmers and mainly exporting to Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"This time around, the importers from Africa are also evincing keen interest in MP's wheat. In the coming days, wheat from Madhya Pradesh might be exported to Egypt, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Tanzania also," he added.

He said that wheat was sown on 95.51 lakh hectares area in the state during 2021-22 Rabi season adding that its production is expected to reach 346.70 lakh tonnes.

The Rabi crops are sown around mid-November, preferably after the monsoon rains are over, and harvesting begins in April and May.

"This time around, the traders are knocking at the doors of farmers in pursuit of good quality wheat. They are striking deals instantly with the farmers by purchasing Sharbati wheat at a price of Rs 2,200 to Rs 2,500 per quintal," Banesingh Chouhan, a farmer of Lohari Bujgar village in Dhar district, told PTI on Sunday.

"I have not seen such a race among the traders to procure wheat earlier," he added.

Meanwhile, good-quality wheat is being bought far above Rs 2,015 quintal minimum support price in MP bringing good tidings for the farmers. Russia and Ukraine figure in the list of top exporters of wheat but supplies were hit after the former attacked the latter.

As a result of this, many countries are looking at India and other countries for the supply of wheat. The sanction of the west on Russia too has lessened its exports.