Wheat purchases to halve; no plans to curb exports: Food secretary
THE SECRETARY ALSO RULED OUT A POSSIBILITY OF IMPOSING ANY CURBS ON WHEAT EXPORTS AS FARMERS ARE GETTING HIGHER THAN THE MSP
NEW DELHI: The Centre’s wheat procurement is set to decline by more than half to 19.5 million tonnes in the the current rabi marketing year amid higher exports and likely fall in output, food secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said on Wednesday, and asserted there won’t be any concern for meeting the domestic demand under the Public Distribution System.
The secretary also ruled out a possibility of imposing any curbs on wheat exports as farmers are getting higher than the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their produce. Addressing a press conference here, Pandey said: “We don’t see a case for any control on exports. ....Wheat exports are on and in fact the government is facilitating the traders,” he said.
New export markets such as Egypt, Turkey and some European Union countries are opening for Indian wheat. Agri-export promotion body APEDA is facilitating the shipments, he said.
Pandey said that private traders have contracted for export of 4 million tonnes for the current quarter, and 1 million tonnes have been shipped already.
Indian traders have a window for exports till June when the wheat crop from Argentina will arrive, thereby increasing the global availability and reducing pressure on India, he added.
Wheat exports stood at a record 7 million tonnes in 2021- 22 fiscal. Amid rise in demand for wheat for export, the secretary said farmers are selling their produce to private players at more than the MSP.
This has resulted in lower procurement by the government agencies. The fall in government procurement, he asserted, goes in “favour of farmers” as they are getting higher than the MSP offered by the government agencies.
However, about overall foodgrain management situation, the secretary said, “We are still in surplus situation.”
“...The government’s wheat procurement has reduced. But the availability and procurement of rice is sufficient to meet the demand under the National Food Security Act,” the secretary added.