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Informist, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025

By J. Navya Sruthi

MUMBAI – Prices of wheat, rice, and maize were unavailable as all grain markets were shut Monday for Diwali, traders said. They said markets would be shut till Thursday on account of the festival.  

Traders said wheat sowing will begin after Diwali. They expect record high wheat acreage in the upcoming rabi season. Most traders said farmers are likely to choose wheat over other rabi crops due to better returns. 

Wheat acreage is likely to grow 3–5% on year, traders said. In the previous rabi season, wheat acreage was nearly 33 million hectares, up nearly 3% on year. The increase is mainly due to higher minimum support prices along with bonus over the minimum support price by state governments such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The minimum support price for wheat in the rabi marketing season 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) was raised by INR 150 per 100 kg to INR 2,425 per 100 kg, with an additional bonus offered by the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments. For 2026-27, which is the upcoming rabi marketing year, the government set the minimum support price at INR 2,585 per 100 kilograms. 

Meanwhile, traders from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh said there has been no damage to kharif crops such as paddy and maize despite heavy showers during the southwest monsoon. They expect rice and maize output to be higher than last year. 

In the 2024 kharif season, maize output was nearly 25 million tonnes, up from 22.2 million tonnes. The ourput of rice, the largest kharif crop, was nearly 122 million tonnes, up from 113 million tonnes.  

The market now awaits the government's first advance estimates for the kharif season 2025-26 (Jul-Jun). A senior government official earlier told Informist that the government is likely to release the first advance estimates in the week after Diwali.  End

Edited by Avishek Dutta

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