June 21, 2005

India not expecting to import wheat

High international prices make it unlikely that India will be importing wheat, especially when the government levies a 50 percent customs duty on all shipments and wheat harvests have just been procured. 

For any possibility of imports at this point of time, India's cabinet will first have to waive the customs duty, said Anil Monga, managing director of Emmsons International, a Delhi-based trading house. 

Currently, the import of wheat into India will cost at least US$185-190 per tonne regardless of its origin. The cheapest Australian wheat is currently available on free-on-board basis at US$140 per tonne, while those Argentina are at US$125 a tonne and Russia or Ukraine at US$115 a tonne.

Imports would also seem unnecessary given that the government still has an estimated 14.7 million tonnes of wheat in its possession, sufficient to meet the demand under the public distribution system and service food-for-work programmes for another nine months. Should these stocks be depleted, the next wheat crop in April 2005 should already have been harvested.