No more item to be banned, says Pawar

"I don't think any new commodities will be added," Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who also heads the consumer affairs ministry that oversees the futures market, told reporters here.

The government had suspended futures trading in soyoil, chana, potato and rubber for four months, till September 6, as a measure to control inflation. This was in addition to last year's ban on wheat, rice, tur and urad.

When asked about the possibility of extending the ban beyond four months, Pawar said, "Let's see what happens...I think the decision has been taken only for four months. I hope it will not have to be extended beyond that."

The minister said the decision to suspend futures trading was taken by the commodities market regulator Forward Markets Commission (FMC) after much deliberation. "The decision was taken by the FMC about three days back. They came to this conclusion after a lot of discussion," he said.

Pawar noted that out of the four commodities on which the ban was imposed last year, prices of two items have stabilised while those of the other two have increased. Asked about the Abhijit Sen Committee report on futures, Pawar said, "We have not taken a decision on the report."

Apart from the main report, the Sen Committee had submitted supplementary reports by four members, including that of Chairman Sen, where they had expressed their personal views.

The committee had been set up last year to study the impact of futures trading on prices of essential commodities.

The committee found no conclusive evidence as to whether futures trading had an impact on the prices. However, Sen, who headed the Panel, favoured continuation of ban on wheat, rice, tur and urad.

No wheat imports this year
The government on Monday ruled out importing wheat this year as procurement of the foodgrain is all set to reach 20 million tonnes as against the targeted 15 million (150 lakh) tonnes in the current marketing season.

"Though the target is 150 lakh tonnes, we will reach 200 lakh tonnes. Then, import will not be required," Pawar told reporters.The minister said he had discussed the issue with all state governments and the Food Corporation of India and the assessment was based on their feedback.

As of last Saturday, Pawar said wheat procurement has reached 18.5 million tonnes.