Grape exporter Nitin Agrawal encountered some odd weather events this season. His vineyards in Nashik and five other districts in Maharashtra received excess rainfall in November and December, and then in January, the temperature dipped so much that he had to delay harvesting. Agrawal, MD of Euro Fruits, engages some 250 farmers and exports about 7,000 tonnes of grapes to the UK and Europe annually.
He says the change in weather affected the quality of grapes, particularly their taste. Agrawal isn’t alone in being buffeted by unusual weather. This year, large parts of the nation, mainly north, central and western India, saw early spells of heatwaves, reducing the production of wheat, vegetables and fruits. Agricultural scientist and retired vice-chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University, Baldev Singh Dhillon, estimates that the unusually high temperatures in March and early April reduced wheat production by 5-6 quintals per hectare, meaning a 10% loss in productivity, apart from losses in horticulture. These early spells of heatwaves and an asymmetrical pattern of rainfall have cast a shadow on India’s momentum on agri exports.
To add to that, GoI’s unexpected move on May 13, banning wheat exports, a measure intended to tame the spiralling food inflation, has come as a big blow to exporters. With the rising demand for and price of wheat across the world, exporters were focused on wheat to earn some extra dollars. Wheat fetched $2 billion, or 4% of India’s agri-exports, last fiscal. All eyes are on the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) stage-2 forecast of southwest monsoon (June to September) on May 31.
In its stage-1 prediction, issued in mid-April, IMD said there would be normal rainfall in most parts of the country. “True, there was deficient rainfall in north, western and central India in March and April. March, in particular, was very bad. In the first few days of May, though, rainfall has improved (14.7 mm as against a normal of 15.1 mm between May 1 and 9),” Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of meteorology, IMD, tells ET, adding that the deficient rainfall was mainly due to ineffect.
