November 17, 2008
India panel moots INR800/tonne (US$16.305) hike in government wheat purchase price
India's commission on agricultural costs and prices has recommended an INR800-a-metric tonne hike in the intervention price of wheat for 2009, a senior government official said Monday (November,17). The intervention price in 2008 was INR10,000/tonne (US$203.59).
The official said that the CACP has recommended a hike but the final decision in this regard will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs soon.
In India, the government is the single largest buyer of wheat, purchasing up to 25 percent of the total harvest at the set intervention price.
The intervention price is one of the factors determining the size of the country's wheat plantings for any given year.
