April 13, 2007

India government's 2007 domestic wheat buys to reach 15 million tonnes
 

Indian government agencies have so far purchased 661,159 tonnes of locally produced wheat as part of plans to procure a total of 15 million tonnes in 2007, Junior Minister for Food and Agriculture Akhilesh Prasad Singh said Thursday.

Whether the government will have to import wheat to run its subsidised sales programmes will depend on the size of its local purchases.

"The government is quite hopeful of achieving the local procurement target of 15 million tonnes this season," Singh said in a statement.

The procurement season for wheat runs from April to March but the bulk of the purchases is made between April and June each year.

As of Apr 11, the government has procured 426,538 tonnes in Haryana and 234,621 tonnes in Punjab, Singh said.

He said the government had procured 96 percent of the market arrivals in Haryana and 90 percent in Punjab.

Singh attributed the bulk purchases to the attractive price of 8,500 rupees (US$198.32) a tonne being offered to farmers by government agencies.

In 2006, India's federal government had to import 5.5 million tonnes of wheat because its domestic procurement fell short of requirements. Private companies offered much higher prices to farmers for their wheat than the government-set intervention price.