India has no intentions to lift wheat export ban

The Indian government has no plans to lift the three-year ban on wheat exports, despite record production this year.

"There is no such proposal," Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told reporters when asked whether the government is planning to lift the ban on wheat exports.

The export of wheat, which is grown in the rabi season, was banned in early 2007. The government had imported 7.3 million tonnes of wheat in 2006 and 2007 to augment its buffer stock and meet the requirement for the public distribution system (PDS).

India is estimated to have harvested a record 80.98 million tonnes of wheat in the 2009-10 crop year, surpassing last year's record of 80.68 million tonnes.

The government has ample stocks in its godown on the back of bumper procurement in the current marketing year. It has procured nearly 23 million tonnes of wheat so far against a record 25.4 million tonnes in the previous year.

High food inflation, which is hovering around 16%, and the requirement of food grains for the proposed Food Security Act, are the main factors for the government to continue with the export ban, even though it has comfortable stocks in the central pool, according to experts.