September 4, 2006

India currently has no plans to import more wheat

India's federal government has no plans in the near term to import more wheat at zero customs duty beyond the current 5.5 million tonnes target, Food Minister Sharad Pawar said Saturday (Sep 2).

State Trading Corp (STC), has contracted imports of 3.83 million tonnes on behalf of the government and another tender to purchase 1.67 million tonnes closes Tuesday.

"STC is already importing (the required) wheat, there are no more tenders in the pipeline," the minister told reporters on the sidelines of a conference to commemorate the World Coconut Day.

The minister did not elaborate.

Government is importing wheat to augment supplies and rein in the local prices.

In addition, it has also issued permits to private traders and processors for import of close to another 3 million tonnes at 5 percent customs duty.

India is likely to be one of the world's largest importers of wheat in terms of volumes at around 8.5 million tonnes, including imports on both government and private account, in the year to Mar 2007.