India's Grain Rake Flows | Wheat, Rice & Maize | 1 Sep 2026

Agri Research Team | FarMart1 Sep 2026

Commodity wise Rake Movement

Maize: Shift in seasonal rake movement, resilient volumes.
Rake movement declined in April and May 2026 compared with the same months in 2025, falling from 334 to 208 and 363 to 297 rakes, respectively.
Movement rebounded sharply in June and July, reaching 411 and 352 rakes, respectively, and surpassing the corresponding months of 2025. Rain-related delays shifted the harvesting cycle, resulting in later crop arrivals and subsequently delayed rake movement. This suggests a shift in the seasonal movement cycle rather than a sustained decline in volumes.
Wheat: Stable movement with a sharp August decline.
Rake movement remained relatively stable during April–May 2026, with 683 and 766 rakes, respectively.
Movement peaked at 782 rakes in July before declining sharply to 417 rakes in August, indicating a significant slowdown in movement towards the end of the period.
Rice: Sustained decline in rake movement.
Rice rake movement declined consistently across the comparative months, with April movement falling from 1,027 rakes in 2025 to 873 rakes in 2026.
The decline became more pronounced in August 2026, when movement fell to 559 rakes, with no significant recovery visible during the period.

Maize: Higher movement driven by strong demand.
India’s ethanol blending programme has significantly increased maize demand, with a growing share of domestic maize being diverted towards ethanol production.
This has intensified competition between the ethanol and poultry sectors, both of which are major maize consumers, supporting stronger domestic demand and prices.
These demand-side factors likely contributed to the higher maize rake movement observed in June–July 2026, despite the delayed start to the season.
Wheat & Rice: Lower movement amid surplus stocks.
Wheat and rice movement has been impacted by high government-held stocks, with FCI inventories remaining well above buffer requirements.
In wheat, high reserve prices under OMSS have limited open-market offtake, reducing the movement of stocks from government warehouses to the market.
Rice has faced a similar situation, with procurement outpacing offtake through channels such as OMSS, ethanol allocation and Bharat Rice, resulting in elevated stocks and slower stock movement.