India's wheat production may suffer for the second straight year in 2016 on account of warm winter being witnessed in central and northern parts of the country.
"We are observing higher than normal temperatures in most parts of the country, including central and northern India, where wheat is the main crop," Indu Sharma, chief of state-run Directorate of Wheat Research, was quoted as saying by Reuters.
In 2015, wheat output in the country was 88.94 million tonnes, down from 91.50 million tonnes the previous year, primarily due to unseasonal rains and hailstorms.
"At the moment we see our production at 87-88 million tonnes," Sharma added.
North India accounts for a major share of wheat production in the country.
Wheat acreage is expected to fall by a million hectares from the average 30 million hectares and Sharma said that he hopes "temperatures don't go up any further in February and March when the crop is ready for harvest."
Recently, inflation has been on the rise after hitting multi-year lows in August 2015. However, it increased to 5.6% for December, according to data released by the government on Tuesday.
Steadily rising food prices have contributed the most to the uptick in retail inflation. The Consumer Food Price Index almost doubled in December 2015 at 6.40% from 3.96% in December 2014.
A spike in food prices, and hence in retail inflation, could spoil the electoral prospects of the BJP in poll-bound states - Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Kerala - this year.
At the same time, it would also restrict the scope for the Reserve Bank of India to cut interest rates.
