India is poised to begin wheat imports after a six-year gap, to replenish depleted reserves and hold down prices that leaped following three years of disappointing crops. Wheat stocks in state warehouses dropped to 7.5 million metric tons in April, the lowest in 16 years, after the government was forced to sell more than 10 million tons, a record, to flour millers and biscuit makers to tame prices.
The considered view is that the wheat import duty should be removed after June, so that the private trade can import wheat. As the new-season wheat harvest rolls in, the government is likely to wait until after June to scrap the import tax, in time for Russia’s harvest. New Delhi needs nearly 18.5 million metric tons of wheat as part of the world’s biggest food welfare programme.
Presentation- Dibyabharati Nayak
