Govt to allot 200,000 tonne extra wheat a month for PDS

The government will release 200,000 tn extra wheat each month during Oct-Dec for above poverty line families under the public distribution scheme, a government statement said on Tuesday.

It said the additional wheat allocation is being made to “check inflationary trends in the open market, keeping in view requests of state governments and comfortable position of wheat in the central pool”.

To ensure adequate supplies in the open market and maintain prices, the government has allocated nearly 3.5 mt additional wheat to above poverty lines families during the Jul-Sep quarter.

It has also released 1 mt wheat to states for retail buyers under the open market sale scheme to ensure adequate availability in the open market, and plans to sell another 1 mln tn to bulk buyers through tenders.

The government has more wheat stocks than it currently requires and may further increase allocation under PDS over the next few months, an official said. Even after extra allocation under PDS, the government will have a buffer stock of 6 mt as on April 1, the official said.

The government has been increasing wheat allocation for above poverty line families in the current financial year in view of comfortable wheat stocks.

On September 1, the government had 23.2 mt wheat and 8.3 mt rice in the central pool. While the government's wheat stocks were up 111 per cent on year, its rice stocks were up 20 per cent.

Simplifying the export process for premium non-basmati rice variety Pusa 1121, the government has asked customs authorities to allow its shipments after drawing random samples for testing, without waiting for test reports, according to an official circular.

The move substantially cuts down the pre-shipment time for exporters.

In case test reports are at variance with declaration of the export status, the customs authorities have been asked to report the matter to zonal offices of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

The government has allowed export of Pusa 1121 last month subject to a minimum export price of $1,200 a tn from six ports.

It had also listed specifications of Pusa 1121, to make it easier for customs authorities to identify the premium rice variety, as it is the only non-basmati rice variety that can be exported. The ban on other non-basmati rice varieties continues.

To make its easier for customs authorities to identify Pusa 1121, the government had asked them to allow shipments provided grain length is more than 7mm and the grain length to breadth ratio is more than four.

“Customs may draw random samples for testing, to ascertain variety identification and send these samples for analysis to AGMARK testing centres. However, Customs will not hold back export consignments or containers for want of test reports, and export will be allowed after drawing samples, wherever requires,” the DGFT said in a circular.

According to industry officials, about 500,000-700,000 mt Pusa 1121 can be exported this year after relaxation of export curbs.