Wheat stocks in India fell to a 7-year low

According to the state Food Corporation of India, wheat stocks in state warehouses as of March 1 decreased to the lowest level since 2017 at 9.7 million tons, while in this period in 2022 they reached 11.7 million tons, Reuters reports.

Due to the low harvests of the last two years, the country's authorities sold record amounts of stocks to support domestic prices. Despite the shortage of supplies, the Indian government refuses to increase wheat imports by reducing or canceling the current 40% tax or direct purchases from leading exporters, for example, in the Russian Federation. Instead, the authorities are selling wheat from the state reserve to wholesale consumers in an attempt to contain prices that have exceeded the set minimum purchase price since the last harvest.

Since June 2023, the government has allowed the sale of wheat to private buyers, and as of now, it has already sold a record 9 million tons.

In 2020, India offered free wheat to millions of its citizens to avoid food shortages during pandemic restrictions. However, against the backdrop of a reduction in wheat production in 2022 and 2023, stocks in state warehouses were replenished more slowly than planned.

In 2022, the country banned the export of wheat, but this did not stop the rise in prices, as the harvest turned out to be lower than the 110.6 million tons predicted by the authorities.