India raises wheat purchase price by 6.6 per cent to boost output

India has raised the price at which it will buy new-season wheat from domestic farmers by 160 rupees ($1.80) or 6.6 percent to encourage growers to expand acreage and boost supplies in the world's second-biggest producer of the grain.

The revised purchase price of 2,585 rupees ($29.15) per 100 kg for 2026 compares with 2,425 a year earlier, Minister for Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw told a news conference after a meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet.

India sets a price each year at which it will buy wheat and rice from local farmers to distribute for free to 800 million beneficiaries of the world's biggest food welfare programme.

India grows one wheat crop a year, with plantings in October and November and harvests from March.

"The price hike was necessary to maintain farmers' interest in wheat, as rapeseed offered better returns than wheat last year. Farmers in some states are now inclined to shift to rapeseed," said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house.

Wheat and rapeseed are primarily grown in northern, central, and northwestern India, where the cooler climate supports their cultivation.