Heat to scorch India wheat supplies, add food-shortage worries to world

Heat to scorch India wheat supplies, add food-shortage worries to world

Bloomberg / New Delhi

A blistering heat wave has scorched wheat fields in India, reducing yields in the second-biggest grower and damping expectations for exports that the world is relying on to alleviate a global shortage.

Temperatures soared in March to the highest ever for the month on record going back to 1901, shrivelling India’s wheat crop during a crucial growth period. That’s spurring estimates that yields have slumped 10% to 50% this season, according to almost two dozen farmers and local government officials surveyed by Bloomberg.

This could be a serious blow to global wheat supplies after Russia’s war in Ukraine upended trade flows out of the critical Black Sea breadbasket region, prompting warnings of food shortages. Importing nations are looking to India for supplies, with the first shipment being prepared for top buyer Egypt. Lower production would jeopardise India’s ability to make up for the shortfall.

The food and commerce minister predicted that India will export as much as 15mn tonnes of wheat this fiscal year, a record high and double what it shipped last year. The scorching heat has thrown that into doubt.

It’s also raising concerns for the domestic market, with millions depending on farming as their main