Wheat export ban to continue as govt falls short on procurement targets

The government has decided to continue with the ban on wheat export in the current year, a senior government official aware of the development was quoted as saying in The Economic Times (ET).

The ban was first introduced in May last year because of a decline in wheat production in the country. Additional secretary in the Department of Food, Subodh K Singh said that wheat exports will not be allowed. He added that India is not a primary wheat exporter and does so only when it has surplus produce.

Significantly, the government procurement of wheat plays an important role in keeping the wholesale prices of wheat under control and the procurement this year is significantly lower than the target of 34 million tonnes, the report said. This is despite the continuing increase in prices.

So far, the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the body responsible for procurement on behalf of the government, has procured 26.14 million tonnes of wheat as on May 21.

According to the ongoing trend, total procurement is expected to reach the figure of 27 million tonnes by the time this year's procurement and harvest season end, the ET report said.

There has been a drop in procurement numbers in the country's largest wheat-producing state, Uttar Pradesh. This year's numbers stand at around two million tonnes compared to the estimated figure of 3.5 million tonnes, the report added.