20 to 30 lakh tonnes of wheat may need to be imported

19-Sep-2024 03:53 PM

Mumbai. A former Union Agriculture Secretary has said that 20 to 30 lakh tonnes of wheat may need to be imported in the country to ease the supply-availability situation in the domestic sector and to control prices.

It is beyond comprehension why the government has not yet removed the import duty on wheat despite the rise in prices.

He himself has written to the government several times in this regard. The price of other important agricultural and food commodities is also moving high and fast in sympathy with this. The increase in the price of wheat is also affecting other food products including maize and rice.

According to the former Agriculture Secretary, the price of wheat is currently around Rs 2840 per quintal in Delhi and between Rs 2600-2650 per quintal in Rajasthan's benchmark Kota Mandi.

He has questioned the government's wheat production estimate and said that it is about 50 lakh tonnes more than the reality.

If the data released by the National Sample Survey Office is to be believed, the inflation rate in wheat and rice should not be in double digits.

This means that either the consumption estimate of this office has been underestimated or the production estimate of the Ministry of Agriculture has increased from reality.

The central government has expressed the possibility of record production of 1129 lakh tonnes of wheat in the country during the 2023-24 season, while the estimate of the industry-trade sector is less than 1040 lakh tonnes.

The stock of wheat in government warehouses is decreasing. The government has decided to leave an additional stock of 35 lakh tonnes of wheat under the PDS, which will benefit 20 crore people.