Reading Time: 2 minutes New Delhi | Reuters — Bumper harvests and overflowing grain bins will help India to meet wheat import needs of the world’s top buyers as Russia’s Ukraine invasion hits supplies from the Black Sea region, a top government official said. India, the world’s second biggest wheat producer, is prepared to meet any extra demand for […] Read more
Record wheat crop, high stocks to help India meet rising export demand
India’s Modi backs down on farm reforms in surprise win for protesters
Laws to be repealed in upcoming parliament session; protests to continue until then
Reading Time: 4 minutes Ghaziabad, India | Reuters — In a surprise announcement Friday, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he would repeal agriculture laws that farmers have been protesting against for more than a year, sparking celebrations for what farmers called a hard-fought victory. Modi’s decision is a significant climb-down for the combative leader and comes as state […] Read more
India to launch $1.48 bln plan to raise oilseed output, cut imports
Reading Time: 1 minute New Delhi | Reuters – India will launch a 110 billion rupee ($1.48 billion) plan to boost domestic oilseed production to make the country self-sufficient in edible oil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, a move that will cut costly vegetable oil imports. India is the world’s biggest vegetable oil importer and spends an […] Read more
India’s federal police probe bosses of two fertilizer companies
Large-scale nutrient purchases often known to sway spot prices
Reading Time: 2 minutes Mumbai | Reuters — Indian authorities have opened an investigation into the heads of two leading fertilizer importing companies, alleging they secured commissions from overseas suppliers for inflating the prices of crop nutrient purchases. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India’s top crimefighting agency, said late Wednesday it was investigating U.S. Awasthi, managing director of […] Read more
Farmers protest across India against Modi’s farm market reforms
Reading Time: 2 minutes New Delhi/Mumbai | Reuters — Farmers’ protests against new laws liberalizing agricultural markets spread across India on Tuesday, as farm organizations called for a nationwide strike after inconclusive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. In eastern and western states, farmers blocked roads and squatted on railway tracks, delaying hordes of people getting to work, […] Read more
High food prices hurting India’s poor
Inflation pain expected to persist for months yet
Reading Time: 2 minutes New Delhi | Reuters — India’s retail inflation may stay elevated for at least three more months after hitting a six-year high in October, as excess rain has damaged standing crops and seedlings, while edible oils that the country imports have become expensive. The high prices are a particular cause of concern for India’s hundreds […] Read more
How COVID-19 is upending global food supply chains
Cows fed strawberries in India, watermelons rot in U.S., okra not reaching Canada
Reading Time: 5 minutes Satara/Singapore/London | Reuters — In the fertile Satara district in western India, farmers are putting their cattle on an unorthodox diet: Some feed iceberg lettuce to buffalo. Others feed strawberries to cows. It’s not a treat. They can either feed their crops to animals or let them spoil. And other farmers are doing just that […] Read more
Pulse import plunge in India to ripple across Canada, Australia
Reading Time: 3 minutes Mumbai | Reuters — Pulse imports to India, the world’s biggest buyer, may fall to their lowest in nearly two decades after the government raised import taxes and restricted overseas purchases to bolster prices, impacting the plans of its global suppliers. The reduction in imports illustrates the government’s steps to raise the prices of pulses, […] Read more
India doubles wheat import tax, imposes 50 per cent tax on peas
Reading Time: < 1 minute New Delhi | Reuters – India has doubled its import tax on wheat to 20 per cent, according to a government order made on Wednesday, as the world’s second biggest producer tries to rein in imports to support local prices. In the last two years India has been importing wheat after local production fell due […] Read more
Pulse crop sales to India dry up over pest-control plan
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg/Mumbai | Reuters –– Canadian exporters are slowing sales of peas and lentils to India, threatening $1.1 billion in annual trade of the food staples, over risk that New Delhi may reject shipments under its tougher approach to pest control. India requires shippers to fumigate crops with methyl bromide, an insect-killing gas, in the country […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
