India Will See Smallest Wheat Harvest Since 2008

India, the world’s second biggest wheat producing country after China, will see its smallest wheat harvest in seven years – falling 17% to 80 million tons from a record 95.9 million tons last year, according to the India Pulses and Grain Association. Rainfall that was double the 50-year average occurring in February and March damaged approximately 19 million hectares of crops from wheat to rapeseed. The country’s major wheat producing regions saw five times the normal amount of rain, resulting in no crops at all in some areas. As a result, the country is turning to imports from countries, such as Australia, to blend with local wheat supply to meet the requirements of bakeries and restaurants.

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