April wheat stocks at twice the buffer norms

NEW DELHI, MAY 1 - The government decision to import 3.5 million tonne wheat for maintaining the buffer stock may soon prove to have been needlessly hasty as the stock in the central pool is already more than double the norm set for April.

The nodal agency, Food Corporation of India (FCI) has reported a stock of 9.13 million tonne wheat for April against the buffer norm of about 4 million tonne.

The maximum buffer stocking norm for the calendar year is 17.1 million tonne. This level needs to be achieved by July 1. The government has fixed the target of procuring 18.6 million wheat for the central pool in the current marketing season beginning April.

With a good harvest estimated to yield 73.1 million tonne wheat and the reported 2,55,281 tonne average daily increase in market arrivals after harvest, the future looks bright for government agencies to achieve the 18.6 million tonne target. Moreover, this target is not unrealistic, given the fact that in the previous year government-designated agencies procured 18.4 million tonne for the central pool against a total wheat production of 72 million tonne.

There is, however, some slackness in wheat procurement by the government agencies this year. Of the total market arrival of 11.5 million tonne wheat in April, government-designated agencies could procure only about 8 million tonne.

TOUGH TALK

* FCI has reported a stock of 9.13 m tonne wheat for April against the buffer norm of about 4 m tonne
* The maximum buffer stocking norm for the calendar year is 17.1 m tonne

Defending the government procurement agencies, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had said, 'Private trade is offering prices higher than the government