Pvt traders may be allowed to export wheat products

The Government is likely to allow the private sector to export wheat products like atta, suji and maida, while restricting shipments of the grain for three central public sector undertakings and one state-level agency. 

According to sources, the Committee of Secretaries (CoS), in its meeting held earlier this month, had decided that exports of wheat will be permitted through public sector trading firms — PEC, MMTC and STC — as well as one PSU or notified agency in each state.     

However, it decided that outbound shipments of wheat products would be allowed through private firms directly and would not be routed through designated agencies, sources added.      

In March, an Empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM) had decided to allow export of wheat and wheat products may be on private account after May 15 with a cap of two million tonnes in 2009-10. The CoS was entrusted with the task of finalising the modalities of the exports.      

Early this month, Commerce Secretary G K Pillai had said that the notification regarding exports of wheat and wheat products wheat would be issued after the election results.      

Sources said that the CoS decided that no subsidy would be given for such exports. Besides, it asked the Commerce Ministry to allocate the quantities between the agencies and also to monitor the quantities exported.