The area under wheat sowing has been increased by merely 0.4% during the 2022-23 Rabi season, reports DowntoEarth.
As per the data released by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on February 6, the area under wheat cultivation was 34.3 million hectares (mha) till February 3, 2023, an increase of 0.13 mha compared to the previous season of 2021-22. A total of 34.1 mha area was under wheat cultivation in 2021-22.
The government is expecting a bumper crop this season to lift the ban on the export. An increase in output would lower the inflationary pressure on wheat.
Wheat export was banned on May 13, 2022, by the Centre after there was a spike in global wheat prices and a dip in the domestic stocks due to lower wheat output. Heatwaves in Parts of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh affected the productivity of the crop.
Farmers sow wheat in October and harvest it in March/ April.
