CEOs need to accelerate their action plans to safeguard the production of commodities critical to the global population and economy as heat stress and drought risk rise around the world, according to PwC's
A wheat disease that could destroy most of the world's main wheat crops could strike south Asia's vast wheat fields two years earlier than research had suggested, leaving millions to starve.
A wheat-killing fungus has spread from Africa to Iran and may already be in Pakistan, which depends crucially on wheat to feed its population, New Scientist magazine says.
There is no improvement in River Indus flows at Gudu Barrage and position has worsened with inflow in Indus at Tarbela being only 20,300 cusecs while Tarbela storage diminished and attained the dead
A deadly new and virulent fungus capable of affecting wheat crop has been detected in Iran, a major cereal growing area in West Asia. The fungus was previously found in East Africa and Yemen and has now moved to Iran, according to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The fungus is capable of destroying entire fields of wheat crop. The report could further push up global wheat prices by at least 10-15 per cent. In the spot retail market, wheat prices have surged by 40 per cent in last one year on global shortage. Countries such as Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, all major wheat producers, are most threatened by the fungus and should be on high alert as the fungus can travel to these areas thus affecting the entire output, FAO said. It is estimated that as much as 80 per cent of all wheat varieties planted in Asia and Africa are susceptible to the wheat stem rust (Puccinia graminis). The spores of wheat rust are mostly carried by wind over long distances and across continents. "The detection of the fungus in Iran is very worrisome,' said Shivaji Pandey, director of FAO's plant production and protection division. According to the Iran government, the fungus has been detected in some localities in Broujerd and Hamedan in western Iran. Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of the fungus. The fungus first emerged in Uganda in 1999 and is therefore called Ug99. The wind-borne transboundary pest subsequently spread to Kenya and Ethiopia. In 2007, an FAO mission confirmed for the first time that Ug99 has affected wheat fields in Yemen. The Ug99 strain found in Yemen was more virulent than the one found in East Africa. Ethiopia and Kenya had serious wheat rust epidemics in 2007 with considerable yield losses. Global wheat production is estimated at 603 million tonnes in 2007, up 1.2 per cent from 2006. In Asia, the output is estimated to rise by 1.7 per cent to 928 million tonnes in 2007 compared with 912.6 million tonnes last year. Global wheat prices have strengthened since December. Tight export supplies amid strong demand continued to provide support to cereal markets. International grain prices benefited from the weak US dollar, which increases the demand for the US wheat, and a sharp decline in freight rates, which helped accelerating purchasing activities by several countries in recent weeks. Export restrictions by China and the Russian Federation coupled with the closure of the export registry in Argentina also provided support.
Farmers are hard hit by the re-closure of water in the canals in Abbasia and Cholistan areas of Tehsil Liaqatpur, which is affecting the standing wheat crop. Several local councillors including Dr Muhammad Aslam, Chaudhry Asghar Ali lumbardar Abdul Karim and others have urged early release of water in the canals, which had again been closed after a short reprieve earlier. They said water scarcity was also impacting sugarcane sowing, and if the canal closure continued, it would not only hurt the local farmers financially, but would also affect the per acre yield of those vital crops. Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2008
A diagnostic survey was conducted in rice-wheat and maize-wheat blocks of Bulandshahr district for identification of tillage and other related soil physical constraints in farmers' fields.
Citing reports of higher wheat output this year, Food Corporation of India (FCI) today said it expected to lift at least 13.5 million tonnes of wheat in 2008-09, up by 2.3 million tonnes over the current fiscal. "This year (2008-09), the wheat procurement from across the country by FCI is expected to be between 13.5 and 15 million tonnes of wheat which is quite high as compared to procurement done in earlier years,' FCI Chairman and Managing Director Alok Sinha told reporters here today. He said, "The major factors behind the increase in procurement will be higher MSP, good crop in Punjab, Haryana, Northern Rajasthan and Western Uttar Pradesh, and low interest of private buyers in buying the crop.' FCI procured 9.2 million tonnes of wheat in 2006-07, followed by 11.2 million tonnes lifted in 2007-08. With the procurement of 13.5 million tonnes of the crop, the wheat stock of the country would reach 18.8 million tonnes. "From April 1 this year, we will have a stock of 5.3 million tonnes of wheat and if we add the figure of expected lifting then it will reach 188 lakh tons,' Sinha said. From Punjab and Haryana alone, FCI expects to lift 8.5 million tonnes and 40 million tonnes of wheat respectively, he informed. The agency predicts that the private buyers would not be aggressive this year for wheat buying due to stabilised domestic wheat prices. Elaborating on the low interest of private traders in wheat buying this year, Sinha said, "The wholesale prices of wheat in domestic market remained lower in 2007-08 than the prices in 2006-07, although the global prices remained high.' Moreover, the domestic wheat prices are stabilised at the moment. Therefore, in view of such a situation, private buyers will not as much as aggressive they were in 2006-07, he added. He said that the private buyers procured 3 million tonnes of wheat last year from the country and they did not make expected gains from this buying. As far as rice procurement is concerned, Sinha said FCI would buy 27 million tonnes of rice by September 30 this year as against rice procurement of 25 million tonnes last year.
Chicago wheat prices rose by the most in more than five years, breaching $12 a bushel for the first time as investors poured money into agricultural commodities on signs that global crop production isn't keeping pace with demand. Global wheat stockpiles will probably fall to a 30-year low this year, while corn inventories are headed for the lowest since 1984, the US department of agriculture said on February 8. Almost $1.5 billion flowed into farm commodities in the week to February 19, investment bank UBS AG said in an e-mailed report on Monday. Wheat, soybeans, corn and palm oil are among commodities that touched records this month, stoking prices of bread, pasta and noodles worldwide. The gains have driven up costs for food Companies from Kellogg Co to Nissin Food Products Co and complicated efforts to curb prices in China, India and Malaysia. "Speculators keep jumping into the market as supplies are very tight globally, especially spring wheat,' Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst with Tokyo-based commodity broker Okachi & Co. Dry conditions in some wheat-producing areas in northern China and also lent support, he said. Wheat for May delivery rose by the daily limit of 90 cents, or 8%, to $12.145 a bushel in after-hours trading on the Chicago Board of Trade, the biggest one-day percentage gain since October 2002. Record prices, led by scarce high-protein varieties, have not deterred buyers. Export sales from the US, the world's largest shipper of the grain, are up 56% since June 1 compared with the same period a year earlier. Global wheat stockpiles may fall to 109.7 million metric tonne by May 31, while corn inventories may decline to 101.9 million tonne as of October 1, the US government estimated on February 8. US inventories of wheat will drop to 7.4 million tonne, the lowest for the end of the marketing year since 1948, according to the USDA. Hard-red spring varieties, traded in Minneapolis, are in short supply as dry weather curbed output last year in the US and Canada. On the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, wheat for May delivery advanced $1.35, or 7.9%, to $18.4325 a bushel. The March contract, which has no limit because it is the closest to delivery, rose as high as $24.26 a bushel, after Monday becoming the first US wheat contract to top $20 a bushel. On the Kansas City Board of Trade, hard-red winter wheat for May delivery also rose as much as the 90-cent limit, or 7.7%, to $12.65 a bushel. Q4 earnings at Kellogg Co, fell 3.3% as price increases failed to keep pace with the higher expense of making Eggos, Frosted Mini-Wheat cereal and cookies.
Low carry-over stock coupled with likely fall in wheat output may compell India to import about 2 million tonne of the grain during 2008-09 marketing year, a report published by the US department of agriculture said. The country's buffer stock is expected to be below 4 million tonne. Wheat production is also pegged lower by 1.3 million tonne at 74.5 million tonne, compared to the previous marketing year, the report said. Wheat production is projected to be lower as the total area under wheat acreage has declined by 5,00,000 hectare. The fall in acreage has been in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar due to poor soil moisture and higher temperatures during sowing, it said. USDA warned that India's wheat supplies are expected to come under pressure as demand for the grain through the public distribution system continues to rise. "Unless the government resorts to wheat imports, stocks by the end of 2008-09 marketing year could fall below the desired buffer stock level of 4 million tonne,' it added. With the general election due inearly 2009, the Indian government would take all steps to increase domestic supply of wheat and check rising prices, it said.
The country may harvest over 76 million tonne of wheat this season, if the current weather conditions remain favourable for the next three weeks, a top official said. "If weather conditions remain favourable, wheat production may touch the record level,' Union agriculture secretary PK Mishra told reporters. India recorded the highest production of 76.37 million tonne of wheat in 1999-2000. Mishra, said the weather conditions till the third week of March is very crucial for wheat, which requires a mean temperature of 20 degree Celsius. Except in Haryana, the mean temperature in most of the wheat growing states such as Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan is normal for the crop, agriculture commissioner NB Sing said. The temperature at some places in Haryana had gone up to 29 degree Celsius for two days last week, which may impact the wheat crop, Singh added. Overall, the prospect of wheat output is very good, the agriculture secretary said. "We have been monitoring the temperature in the wheat growing areas. It is within the normal, prescribed for wheat crop, although the temperature has increased from what it was two weeks earlier.' "It will be not less than 3% when the final figures come,' Mishra said.
