Hail and rain caused damage to ripening wheat, chickpeas and rapeseed in the main agricultural regions of India, reducing the production and subjecting millions of farmers to the threat of the fourth consecutive crop losses.

Torrential rains at the weekend took place in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the States that produce the majority of wheat in India, the largest producer in the world after China. Heavy rain broke the seedlings and flooded the farm.

Lower yields will reduce the production of wheat India is the second consecutive year, draining inventories at government warehouses. Any drop in production of chickpeas and rapeseed will force new Delhi to increase imports of pulses and vegetable oils.

The exact extent of the damage is not yet determined, but according to the initial forecasts, wheat production may decrease by 5-7%, reported the administration of the state Agency on the research of wheat.

If weather conditions are favorable from now on, farmers will be able to save the crop by sucking the water from the fields. But the loss could reach 7-8% if hail and torrential rains will return. Meteoagentstvo predicted rains since Wednesday.

Indian farmers sow wheat in October and November, it is harvested from the end of March. Gusty winds with rain at this time last year caused damage to the production, leaving the farmers without funds and bringing some to suicide.

After two successive droughts in India, where more than half the farmland lacks irrigation, farmers complain about the increase of debt, because lower prices for food products in India and weakening global commodity market has deprived them of income.

After last year's untimely rains, most of the farmers had the feeling of déjà vu, but the worst fears came true now. In fact most of them have not received compensation from the government for losses they incurred in February and March last year

Last month the Ministry of agriculture forecasts a wheat production in India in 2016 on the level 93.82 million tonnes, below the target 94,75 million tons, but above last year's 86,53 million tons.

Source: Thomson Reuters