In recent months, wheat prices have jumped sharply across India

WHEAT prices have jumped sharply across India in recent months as the reality of a harvest much lower than the government's lofty estimate hits home, seriously complicating New Delhi's efforts to keep a lid on food inflation by ensuring an adequate supply of the diet staple. While trade rumblings have been suggesting for some time that the government was drastically exaggerating production, the Roller Flour Millers' Federation is the first to go public. Last week it reportedly pegged this year's wheat harvest in the 101 to 103 million metric tonne range, based on the sparse supply of wheat in the domestic market. This is around ten per cent lower than the government's official estimate of a record 112.74MT and much lower than domestic demand of around 108MMT. The problem has been compounded as the government overestimated last year's harvest and allowed a spate of wheat exports before hastily introducing a trade ban. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare increased its ...