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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Indian wheat cold to global heat by Sanjeeb Mukherjee

Indian wheat cold to global heat by Sanjeeb Mukherjee

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published Published on Aug 16, 2010   modified Modified on Aug 16, 2010


The rise in global wheat prices by almost 50% in less than two months as commodity markets factor in a sharp drop in exportable surplus has not touched India, among world’s biggest producers and consumers of wheat.

What’s more surprising, domestic futures prices too are unlikely to show any appreciable rise, going by the trend in India’s commodity markets.

Barring minor blips, August and September wheat futures at NCDEX, largest exchange for agri-commodities, has hardly moved during June-August while global wheat prices soared. Instead, domestic markets are factoring in the impact of record stocks from Indian wheat fields.

A Citibank report too bears out the disconnect. Global wheat prices, which crossed $8 a bushel in New York last week, won’t have a big impact on India “as the historical correlation of inflation to wheat price is just 12% in India while it is 82% in China,” it notes. Correlation means how far the movement of one number (in this case, inflation) is affected by the changes in another number (price of wheat, in this case).

There are three factors why domestic wheat prices are unlikely to flare: record stocks in government’s granaries (estimated at around 32 million tonnes as on August 1, 2010 against a strategic and buffer requirement of around 17.1 million tonnes), the uncompetitiveness of Indian wheat via-a-vis Australian and Argentine grain in the international market and a blanket ban on wheat exports.

As a result, between June 1 and June 30, NCDEX September wheat futures oscillated between Rs 1,265 per quintal and Rs 1,329.60 per quintal, a mere 5.1% while in the same period, global wheat futures for September delivery jumped by a whopping 61% to almost $8.16 per bushel.

Interestingly, in India, the highest that NCDEX September delivery wheat futures reached in the last two months was on June 12 at Rs 1,329.60 per quintal.

Since then, wheat futures have been steadily falling, hitting a low of Rs 1,258.80 per quintal on July 27, 2010 as it became amply clear India stands to gain very little from the current rally in global grain markets. With food inflation still not under control, the government will not allow wheat exports.

NCDEX October delivery wheat futures has failed to close over Rs 1,300 per quintal even once during entire July till date. November delivery futures has been slightly better, hovering around Rs 1,290 to Rs 1,310 per quintal mark.

The flip side of the low price expectation is that Indian wheat traders have not only missed the ongoing global rally, but are expected to do so in the coming months too.

“It is very unlikely that wheat futures will cross the upper limit of Rs 1,500 per quintal, as in India, this commodity is always under government scanner,” said Basant Vaid, senior research analyst, Bonanza Portfolio. Traders said Indian wheat, which is more similar in taste and texture to Australian or Pakistani varieties could have met some of the global demand.

At the global level, the present surge is however not expected to trigger a food price spike reminiscent of 2007-08 as stocks are much more than earlier.

“Global wheat stocks are far higher today than during the last food scare of 2007-08. Back then, the world held only 427 million tonnes of wheat reserves, which were at 30-their year low, while this time around, silos are stuffed with 528 million tonnes of grain,” a report by HSBC global research said.


The Financial Express, 11 August, 2010, http://www.financialexpress.com/news/indian-wheat-cold-to-global-heat/658710/0


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