NEW DELHI: The agriculture ministry on Thursday said that wheat output will shrink nearly 3% to 106 million tonnes this year — the first decline since 2014-15 — and blamed the unsual hot weather for the fall in production. Wheat production stood at a record 109 million tonnes in the 2020-21 crop year.
In February, the government projected record wheat output of over 111 million tonnes. A fortnight ago, food secretary Sudhanshu Pandey had told reporters that due to the early onset of summer, production was estimated to fall to 105 million tonnes. The last production dip was attributed to drought that year.
