PM Modi did NOT say ‘India is the world’s second largest beef producer’ at an event in New Zealand

A music video Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent speech to the Indian community in Auckland, New Zealand is being widely shared on social media, claiming that India is the world’s second largest producer of beef. This claim sparked debate and criticism online. Newschecker found this claim to be false.

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Evidence

We began our investigation by locating the entire live broadcast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the Indian community event in Auckland, New Zealand, which was released on his official YouTube channel on July 11, 2026. The viral clip appears around the one hour and one minute mark of the one hour and 17 minute speech.

Listening to the speech in context shows that Prime Minister Modi listed India’s achievements in various sectors. In the relevant part, he claims that India is the world’s fastest growing major economy, largest vaccine producer, second largest mobile phone manufacturer, second largest telecommunications market, second largest wheat producer, largest milk producer and second largest fish producer. The word used is “wheat” and not “beef”.

To exclude any ambiguity caused by pronunciation, we replayed the relevant segment at reduced reading speeds of 0.5x and 0.6x. Either way, the audio makes it clear he was referring to wheat.

We also looked at YouTube’s automated speech transcription, which identified the word as “wheat.” The official transcript posted on the PM India website also states that India is the world’s second largest producer of wheat, with no mention of beef in the speech.

We then found the text of Prime Minister Modi’s entire speech during this event on the PM India website. Here too, we only saw the word “wheat” written in English. We didn’t find the word ‘beef’ mentioned anywhere in Hindi or English.

For further verification, we located another record of the same address uploaded by an independent agency. YouTube user on July 12, 2026. The corresponding section of this video also confirms that Prime Minister Modi said “wheat”. Multiple media organizations who gave the speech on July 11 also show the same statement.

We then looked at international agricultural data. According to the US Department of Agriculture, India ranks among the top countries in the world. wheat producing countries and comes second when comparing individual countries, while the European Union is counted separately as a bloc. On the other hand, India is not the second largest country in the world. beef producer and ranks significantly lower in global beef production statistics.

In addition, GDP Fact Check responded to the viral claim and clarified that PM Modi had referred to wheat and not beef, debunking the misleading interpretation of the clip.

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Conclusion

Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not say that India is the world’s second largest beef producer during his speech in Auckland, New Zealand. The full speech, official transcript, YouTube automated transcription, independent recordings and PIB Fact Check all confirm that he said India was the world’s second largest producer of wheat. Global agricultural data also contradicts this viral claim, as India is not second in terms of beef production.

FAQs

T1. Did Prime Minister Modi say that India is the world’s second largest producer of beef in New Zealand?
No. He said that India is the second largest country in the world. wheat producer.

Q2. Where does the viral claim come from?
This claim stems from a clipped portion of Prime Minister Modi’s speech in which some social media users misunderstood the word ‘wheat’ as ‘beef’.

Q3. How was the claim verified?
The full speech, the Indian Prime Minister’s official transcript, YouTube’s automated transcription, independent recordings and the PIB Fact Check all confirm that Prime Minister Modi referred to wheat.

Q4. Is India the world’s second largest producer of beef?
No. According to international agricultural data, India does not rank second in the world for beef production.

Q5. What did PM Modi say in the viral part of the speech?
While listing India’s achievements, he said that India is, among other achievements, the world’s second largest producer of wheat, largest producer of milk and second largest producer of fish.

Sources
YouTube video by Narendra ModiDated July 11, 2026
Transcript published on Prime Minister of India Website
USDA Website