''Ban on non-basmati exports to build stocks"

The country has imposed a ban on export of non-basmati rice to build sufficient stocks of the commodity, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said.

''We studied global availability and witnessed a declining pattern in agricultural production almost everywhere. Though our crop is good, food security is a concern,'' said Pawar.

The ministries of agriculture and commerce are preparing a definition of basmati rice.

Export of all varieties under the category would be allowed, said Pawar. He was addressing the press on the sidelines of the National Conference on Climate Change and Agriculture, organised by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research.

The government had on Tuesday banned export of non-basmati rice. The ban comes at a time the procurement of paddy is on. The government is hopeful of procuring the required quantity. "Whatever quantity of paddy farmers want to sell to the government, we will buy," he said. For the current season, the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the central government's foodgrain procurement and distribution agency, has set a tentative target of procuring 27.6 million tonnes. The procured rice is used for distribution under various welfare schemes run by the central government.

On wheat, Pawar said the minimum support price of Rs 1,000 per quintal (against Rs 750 this year) would protect the interests of farmers and result in additional sowing. The government is providing quality wheat seeds to major wheat-growing states under the National Food Security Mission.

Pawar said since wheat prices had remained stable, there was no plan to sell the produce in the open market and the country had stocks to last till the new crop was harvested in next April.

Sugar production in the new season (October-September) was expected to rise by 5 per cent to 7 per cent over the last season's production of about 28 million tonnes, he said.'