“Good rain in India is always welcomed but another bout of strong rain will only add to the government’s woes,” said Tejinder Narang, adviser to global trading companies.
Due to bumper crop in the last five years, stock of food grains in government granaries have swelled up so much that the warehouses are overflowing even after the grains have been sold at very low prices to poor farmers, reveals a report.
India’s harvest till June 2014 is forecast to be a record 263.2 million tons of grain, enough to give at least a ton of grain to every average-sized household.
Experts say a drought this year is the only way by which a bumper crop will be avoided. They have therefore advised the government to sell stocks in the domestic market to bring down prices and reduce waste, at the same time.
“We have been recommending the government to immediately liquidate 15-20 million tons of rice and wheat,” said Ashok Gulati, chairman of the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices.
However, it mustn't be forgotten that dry weather conditions would hit many individual farmers hard. It will also hit fodder supply to millions of cattle.
Earlier in January 2014, observations at Skymet indicated that 2014 could be an El-Nino year, therefore indicating towards a lesser chance of excess rain and higher chance of below normal rainfall in India.
Photo by marrisabronfman.