India to extend wheat export period

Indian food ministry is supportive of allowing traders to have more time to export about 500,000 tonnes of wheat products that were left unsold out of 650,000 tonnes authorised to ship abroad, according to the Food Minister K.V. Thomas on Tuesday (Jun 7).

 

India allowed private traders to export wheat products for a limited period in 2009 and the programme was extended in phases until March 31, 2011 after the industry failed to meet the target. Roller flour millers have now sought time until March 31, 2012 to ship the entire quantity.

 

"We will not oppose giving more time for wheat product exports because we encourage value-addition. So we may agree on wheat product exports although we may not agree on grain exports," Thomas said.

 

A ministerial panel will decide on the issue, he added, but did not say when the panel will meet.

 

Traders said a more-than-two-year ban until mid-2009 on wheat product exports resulted in clients shifting to other suppliers.

 

"India needs to have a long-term policy on wheat product exports and there should be no restriction on either the quantity or the period of exports," said Veena Sharma, secretary of the Roller Flour Mills Federation of India.

 

She said maintaining a ban on wheat exports will not only help ensure steady local supplies, but also keep down prices that will give an edge to India's exports of value-added wheat products.

 

Denmark, the Middle East, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives are the main buyers of Indian wheat products such as semolina and wheat flour that are used to make bread and bakery items.

 

India is expecting a record wheat output of 84.27 million tonnes this crop year through June, up from 80.8 million tonnes last year. Government officials said the final output may exceed the estimate by up to two million tonnes.

 

The country's food stocks swelled to nearly triple its buffer requirement of 59.13 million tonnes as of May 1, triggering speculation the government may consider limited grain exports to free up storage space.

 

However, Thomas said his ministry is not in favour of grain exports as the government intends to enact a law that will widen subsidised grain sales to the poor. Still, India allows limited shipments to honor diplomatic requests from some countries.

 

India will export 250,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan, out of which 100,000 tonnes have already been shipped, he said.