New Delhi [India]: In 2022, India hoped to have a bumper Wheat harvest of 110 million tonnes. However, a prolonged heatwave just before reaping time caused the output to drop to 106.84 million tonnes - about 2.5% lower than the previous year's production of 109.59 million tonne. This has subsequently led to stubbornly high Wheat prices in India, despite multiple measures from the government to cool prices and consequently drive down rates of Wheat products like atta (flour), biscuits and other confectionary items.

Wheat flour prices skyrocketed in India on February 1, an annualized increase of 22% for retail prices and 31% for wholesale prices. The winter sowing of Wheat is holding steady, with the nation expecting to harvest a record 111-112 million tonnes in two months.

India was hoping to have a bumper Wheat harvest in 2022, but unfortunately a heatwave around the time of reaping resulted in output falling by 2.5% - down from 109.59 million tonne to 106.84 million tonne.

Last week, the Indian government announced plans to sell 3 million tonnes of Wheat on the open market to bulk consumers such as flour mills. This move was made even though state reserves had fallen to their lowest level in six years. As a result of this decision, Wheat prices dropped by 6-7%, but then rose back up again. The decision follows India's ban on Wheat exports last May due to limited supplies from the Black Sea region following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Consumers have seen daily products become more expensive as heat prices continue to rise. As a result, Britannia Industries, a producer of popular biscuits such as Good Day and Little Hearts, hiked their prices by approximately 22% in the past year.

News of soaring bread prices are stressing out consumers all over India. Domestic Wheat prices have seen an unprecedented surge in January, reaching a record high of ?32,500 per tonne - far more than the government-set minimum support price at ?21,250. As a result, rates of regular sliced bread and whole loaves increased by 11% and 7%, respectively. Despite this inflationary trend, overall food inflation fell to 4.2% in December. Cereal inflation however remained significantly higher at 13.8%.

In a groundbreaking move, the government has decided to offload 3 million tonnes of Rice and Wheat into the open market to reduce procurement prices. This decision is also tied to its commitment to ensuring that 800 million people are provided with 5 kilograms of free rice and Wheat every month under its world-renowned food welfare programme for the next three years.