Pawar, Thomas at loggerheads over lifting ban on wheat exports

Food Ministry and Agriculture Ministry are at loggerheads on lifting of ban on wheat exports with the former saying overseas shipments of the grain could lead to rise in domestic prices.

"We are against wheat exports. We feel that if we open exports, domestic prices will be affected," Food Minister K V Thomas told reporters, here.

His remarks come close on the heels of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's statement that the government should give a serious thought to allowing export of wheat as there is excess supply in the country.

Thomas said: "Pawar is pushing for wheat export because he as an Agriculture Minister has certain priorities towards farmers. But I am a Food Minister, I have different set of priorities and I need to be careful".

The proposal of wheat exports may come for discussion in the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGom) on Food on May 2. "But the Food Ministry will oppose it," he said.

Recently, Pawar had said that the country is estimated to harvest a record 84.27 million tonnes of wheat in 2010-11 crop year (July-June). There is wheat stock of 14 million tonnes, as against buffer norm of 7 million tonnes so far.

"The government will have to take a serious view as soon as possible... The government has set a buffer norm. We have stock more than the buffer norm. In this kind of situation, we must take a view (on exports)," Pawar had said.

"We have enough stocks and we can easily export two million tonnes of wheat and rice," he had said.

Not only Pawar, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) suggested in its report that the government is sitting on excess foodgrains stocks worth Rs 43,000 crore, and that the country can easily export 3-4 million tonnes of wheat to benefit from high global prices.

The government has banned wheat export since early 2007.

Thomas noted that there is no need to export wheat for clearing the space for the new crop as the Food Ministry has made all arrangements for storage of the grain.

"We don't have problems of storage now," he added.

Wheat harvesting has started from middle of March and the government procurement agency FCI has purchased 11.47 million tonnes of the grain so far at the minimum support price.

The FCI is targeting the procurement of 26.2 million tonnes in 2011-12.