Wheat stock to last till July '08

India, which is importing wheat for a second year, has enough stockpiles of the grain to last until July, likely reducing the pressure on the South Asian nation to import at record prices.

Reserves at state-run warehouses totalled 10.9 million tonnes on September 7, Food Corporation of India Chairman Alok Sinha said today. The nation may have stockpiles of 5 million tonnes by April 1, more than 4 million tonnes required to cope with emergencies, he said.

India has since July imported about a fourth of this year's target of 5 million tonnes at record prices to build its reserves. Increased availability of the grain may help pare purchases at a time when wheat prices have more than doubled in the past year. "The stocks look comfortable now," said Atul Chaturvedi, president of Adani Enterprises.

PTI adds:

The Delhi High Court today sought a response from the Centre on a petition alleging that wheat was being imported at very high prices. A division bench comprising Chief Justice M K Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Khanna directed the government to file its reply within two weeks.

The Bench was hearing a PIL seeking direction to the Centre to cancel the transaction as it caused loss of crores of rupees to the public exchequer.