Wheat Procurement To Fall By More Than Half As Exports Rise: Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey

Food Secretary said there won't be any concern for meeting the domestic demand under the PDS, and ruled out a possibility of imposing curbs on wheat exports as farmers are getting higher than the MSP

New Delhi: Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey has said that wheat procurement by the government is set to dip by more than half to 19.5 million tonnes in the current Rabi marketing year amid higher exports and decline in output.

According to a report by the PTI, Pandey said that there won't be any concern for meeting the domestic demand under the Public Distribution System (PDS), and ruled out a possibility of imposing restrictions on wheat exports as farmers are getting higher than the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

“We don’t see a case for any control on exports. Wheat exports are on and in fact the government is facilitating the traders,” In Pandey said.

Agri-export promotion body APEDA is facilitating shipments of wheat as some new export markets such as Egypt, Turkey, and some European Union countries are opening, he said.

Private traders have contracted for export of 4 million tonnes of wheat for the current quarter and 1 million tonnes have been shipped already, Pandey added.

Until June, Indian traders have a window for exports when the wheat crop from Argentina will arrive. This will increase the global availability and reducing pressure on India, the secretary said.

For FY21-22, total exports of wheat stood at a record 7 million tonnes.

Pandey said the farmers are selling their produce to private players at more than the MSP amid demand rise for wheat export. Hence, this has resulted in lower procurement by the government agencies.

He said that the fall in government procurement goes in “favour of farmers” as they are getting higher than the MSP offered by the government agencies, adding that the government’s wheat procurement has touched 17.5 million tonnes. Total purchase is likely to reach 19.5 million tonnes in the FY22-23, much lower than the last year.

On overall foodgrain management situation, Pandey said, “We are still in surplus situation. The government's wheat procurement has reduced. But the availability and procurement of rice is sufficient to meet the demand under the National Food Security Act.”