Wheat Acreage Expected to Reach New Record Levels

16-Dec-2025 05:43 PM

New Delhi. Due to the high minimum support price (MSP) and favorable weather and climate conditions, farmers are showing more enthusiasm for wheat cultivation this year, leading to a significant increase in acreage.

According to data from the Central Ministry of Agriculture, the total area under wheat cultivation at the national level had jumped to 275.66 lakh hectares by December 12, 2025, which is 17.18 lakh hectares or 6.5 percent more than the 258.48 lakh hectares sown during the same period last year.

The normal average area for wheat cultivation is estimated at 312.25 lakh hectares, and the rapid pace of sowing indicates that the acreage may soon surpass this figure.

A statement from the Wheat and Barley Research Institute in Karnal said that good progress is being seen in wheat sowing, and the total area is ahead of last year. Good post-monsoon rains have ensured adequate moisture in the soil. Field conditions are favorable for sowing.

Although excessive rainfall and delays in paddy harvesting in some parts of Punjab and Haryana delayed wheat sowing, the acreage has still reached very close to last year's figures. Farmers in these two states completed wheat sowing within the stipulated time frame, which could lead to satisfactory production of this most important food grain of the Rabi season in the 2025-26 season.

The central government has increased the MSP for wheat by Rs. 160, from Rs. 2425 per quintal for the 2024-25 season to Rs. 2585 per quintal for the 2025-26 Rabi season, which is quite attractive for farmers.

Increased production and government procurement will ease the supply and availability of wheat, and the government will then have no difficulty in considering allowing the export of wheat products.

Wheat sowing is progressing well in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and other states.