Reuters Unseasonal rains and hailstorms have damaged ripening, winter-planted crops such as wheat in India's fertile northern, central and western plains, exposing thousands of farmers to losses and raising the risk of further food price inflation. Torrential rains on Sunday and Monday lashed Punjab, Haryana parts of Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh state, which account for the bulk of wheat output in India, the world's biggest producer after China, flattening crops and...

CNBC TV18 The Centre has allowed an early procurement of wheat procurement by states to avert the possibility of any distress sale by farmers. Despite the pre-monsoon rains increasing moisture content in the rabi crop, government sources have maintained that the procurement cycle is on track and there hasn't been any adverse climatic impact on wheat harvest or supply so far. While government sources indicated that wheat procurement in Madhya Pradesh will...

The government has fixed a wheat procurement target of 34.15 million tonnes for the 2023-24 marketing year starting April, higher than 18.79 million tonnes purchased in the previous year. The target was fixed in the meeting of state food secretaries held alongside state food ministers’ conference here to discuss procurement arrangements.  Out of the total wheat procurement target for the 2022-23 marketing year (April-March), Punjab will aim to procure 2.5 million...

Hindu Businessline El Nino is one piece in the mammoth jigsaw puzzle that the Pacific Ocean and its seasonal climatic patterns typify. Being the largest single body of water, the Pacific has an outsized influence on weather and climate across the globe. During El Niño, trade winds weaken and warm water gets pushed back East of the Pacific, towards the West coast of the Americas.  Generally, El Niño occurs more frequently than...

Reuters India is set to produce lesser sugar than previously estimated by industry bodies and government agencies, with the cane crop maturing early and losing weight due to weather conditions in key growing regions, farmers and traders told Reuters. Lower sugar output could prevent the world's second-biggest exporter from allowing additional exports, potentially supporting global prices and helping rivals Brazil and Thailand to increase their shipments. India was estimated to produce 34 to...