March 10, 2008

Indian wheat traders to declare details of local 2008-09 buys

Indian wheat traders must continue reporting the quantity of wheat they purchase to federal and provincial governments through the next crop marketing year that begins April 1, the federal government said in a statement Friday (March 7, 2008).

Traders, companies and individuals must submit details of purchases made in excess of 10,000 tonnes to the provincial government. If a purchase exceeds 25,000 tonnes, they must report details to federal government, the statement said.

Earlier, the order to declare wheat buys was limited to the current marketing year that ends Mar 31.

The move is meant to keep track of large wheat purchases by traders and limit hoarding, which would increase government buys.

In India, provincial and federal governments buy wheat from farmers at a set intervention price and then sell it to consumers at subsidized rates.

Over the past two years, traders have been purchasing wheat from farmers at prices higher than paid by governments.

As a result, government procurement programs have met with purchasing shortfalls, which they have had to make up for with even higher-priced imports.