Sharp Positive Reaction in Indian Commodities Market on further crop damage due to recent rains

Recent rains and hail storm in many parts of north India during past week till yesterday has put farmers in further trouble as harvesting process of Rabi season crops like wheat is further delayed and to some extent there has been loss to the crops also.

Please note that during March and till this Sunday rains in many states particularly north Indian states have caused a considerable loss to the rabi crop production. There are also issues of quality deterioration. The extent of loss varies from farmer to farmer and state to state.

The states and central government have made an assessment of crop damage and appropriate relief measures are being taken by the concerned agencies.

This recent spell of rains/hail storm/squall has become a turning point for some of the commodities which were in search of a fresh direction in market.

And now this positive momentum seems more vigour than expected particularly in commodities like Chana (Gram), Jeera (Cumin), Mustard seed, Barley  and wheat and may last for medium term.

The cascading positive effect will also be seen in other oilseeds like soybean, edible oils like refined soy oil, crude palm oil and cotton etc.


Right now most of the above mentioned commodities are up in the range of 1 to 4% from their previous close. 

Rains and hailstorm Damage Crops in Many parts of the India

Recent rains in various parts of the country for the past couple of days have badly affected the crop production.

Various print and electronic Media reports of India have shown pictures and visuals  of crop damage due to hailstorm and waterlogging in fields.

Farmers of the states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are among the worst sufferers.

In Rajasthan some people died while many injured due to this unseasonal rains and weather disturbance.

Rabi crops like Mustard seed, wheat, Barley, Gram, Masoor, Jeera (Cumin), Potato and Onion have seen maximum loss.

Please note that Madhya Pradesh is one of the major producers of Wheat and Gram (chickpea) while Rajasthan stands first in Mustard production. Other crops like Onion and Cumin are also among major crops of Rajasthan.

In Maharashtra crops like Onion and horticulture crops like pomegranate and grape have seen losses.

In many cases the quality issues will be raised in time to come.

The final assessment of production loss is yet to be made by the government agencies. The farmers say that more than 50% of the crops are lost either in terms of production or quality.

The market will surely adjust itself once some clear picture emerges. But one thing is sure that ample amount of damage is there to some of the crops.

In near future in March or in Early April if again weather turns unfavorable then it will be really hard to save the remaining crops because in the north Indian states like Haryana, Punjab, UP and Bihar harvesting of crop would be in full swing and any unseasonal rain during that period may put farmers in great trouble.