By C. Anand Reddy The year 2008-09 is set to be a watershed year with regard to production of wheat. While India has recorded the highest ever production and procurement levels, a report by the London-based International Grains Council said that global wheat production is expected to touch a record 645 million tonnes, a rise of 41 million tonnes from the year before. Hearteningly enough, consumption is projected to rise to 630 million tonnes in the same year. The global cereal supply situation in 2008-09 is likely to improve, paving the way for a gradual recovery from prevailing tight market conditions, according to a brief on global cereal supply and demand by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. The only rider is that the brief assumes that the current forecast of an increase in cereal production in 2008 will materialise. This comes as a relief, as food prices in the world market have remained a cause for concern. The FAO's first forecast for world cereal production in 2008 stands at a record 2,164 million tonnes (including milled rice), a rise of 2.6 per cent from 2007's crop, which was the previous global high. The bulk of the increase is expected in wheat. However, worldwide rise in prices of rice is currently worrying food experts. The price of rice, a staple food of a major part of Asia, has risen by as much as 70 per cent during 2007 according to the FAO. And shortages have long since begun to hurt some rice-importing countries. The immediate reason for the recent rise in the price of rice has been the "fall in end-stocks" following poor harvests resulting from extreme weather. It must be noted that rice production is more vulnerable to vagaries of nature like pests and weeds. "To add to these problems, in countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, there are hardly any long-term plans for agricultural investment to boost production and yield," Commodity Today has observed. Similarly, Manila-based International rice Research Institute has warned India against being complacent on the rice front. It has said that the sustainability of rice farming in India is threatened by overuse of fertilisers (mainly urea) and declining soil health. India, China, Vietnam and Thailand are among the 40-odd countries that have restricted food exports as they try to protect their own stocks in order to control domestic prices.