Sufficient foodgrain stocks to meet demand for 2009-10: Govt

The government today said it has sufficient foodgrain stocks to meet the demand under the public distribution system and other welfare schemes during 2009-10.

"The present stocks of foodgrains available in the central pool are sufficient to meet the demand of foodgrains under PDS and other welfare schemes at present level of allocations during the current year 2009-10," Minister of State for Food and Public Distribution K V Thomas said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

Replying to a query on whether the government's food security plan is likely to get a setback due to less than normal rainfall, he said the foodgrains stocks as on June 1 was over 535 lakh tonnes against the government's annual requirement of 496 lakh tonnes.

The minister said the foodgrains stocks as on June 1 were 204.03 lakh tonnes of rice and 331.22 lakh tonnes of wheat. At the present level of allocation the annual requirement of foodgrains is about 446 lakh tonnes for PDS and about 50 lakh tonnes under other welfare schemes.

As on July 14 this year, the government has procured a record 251.26 lakh tonnes of wheat in 2009-10 marketing season (April-March), the government informed the House.

The Food Corporation of India and other state agencies had procured a record 316 lakh tonnes of rice till July 14 in the 2008-09 marketing season (October-September).