India raises new-season wheat purchase price to 2,610 rupees/100 kg

(Adds details, rapeseed price) By Shanima A and Mayank Bhardwaj Sept 30 (Reuters) — India has raised the price at which its state agencies would buy new-season wheat from farmers to 2,610 rupees per 100 kg, Information Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday. The minimum support price for wheat was 2,585 rupees per 100 kilogramme last year. India grows one wheat crop a year, with farmers planting it in October and November and harvesting it from March. Unlike rice, the country doesn't have large reserves of wheat. A higher output would help the world's biggest producer, after China shore up domestic reserves and step up exports. India's wheat crop depends on irrigation and soil moisture as it sown after the monsoon season is over, unlike the summer-planted rice crop. Patchy and below-average monsoon rains this year have raised concerns about subpar soil moisture levels, which could in turn affect the wheat crop. India recorded its lowest monsoon rains in more than a decade during the June-September season as the El Niño weather pattern dampened precipitation. The country received 12.6% below average rains during the season. India also raised the new-season domestic rapeseed price to 6,613 rupees per 100 kg, up from 6,200 rupees, Vaishnaw said after a meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet. Higher output of rapeseed — which has the highest oil content among India's nine main oilseeds — could help New Delhi cut expensive imports of vegetable oils widely used in Indian households to make curries and fried food. India is the world's biggest vegetable oil importer and meets nearly two-thirds of its vegetable oil demand through imports, mainly palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil from Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina, Russia and Ukraine. ($1 = 95.8300 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Shanima Aniyeri and Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by YP Rajesh) ((shanima.a@thomsonreuters.com;)