Chandigarh, May 28: Punjab, India's leading wheat producing northern state, plans to boost production of high-protein wheat to capture the niche export market, particularly the Middle East, a farm official said on Wednesday. Farmers in Punjab and central Madhya Pradesh have been growing durum wheat in small quantities but production has been limited due to the absence of favourable markets and a lack of knowledge among farmers.

"Now farmers know that the country is exporting a lot of wheat and there is a premium for high-protein wheat in the global market," S.S. Bassi, an official implementing Punjab's wheat programme, said.
State-run farm agencies will provide seeds for growing durum wheat over 100,000 acres (40,470 hectares) when the new sowing season starts in October, Bassi said.
He said the seeds were expected to yield about 160,000 tonnes of durum wheat, which contains about 12 percent protein compared with about 9.5 percent normally found in wheat grown in India.
Sowing of the wheat takes place in October and November and the crop is harvested in April and May.
Bureau Report