No plan to remove import duty on wheat

14-Jun-2024 04:37 PM

New Delhi. The Union Ministry of Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution has ruled out the possibility of removing customs duty on wheat import in the near future and said that no proposal or plan to this effect is under consideration.

According to the ministry, there is sufficient stock of wheat available in the country, so no change in the import duty structure is being considered.

It is worth mentioning that the roller flour millers and processors are repeatedly requesting the government to make wheat import duty free because its arrival in the markets has reduced a lot and prices have started rising.

Earlier it was being speculated that the government may encourage wheat import with the aim of increasing supply and availability in the domestic sector and curbing the rise in prices,

but the previous day the Food Ministry put an end to all speculations by saying that there is no such plan right now because there is sufficient stock of wheat in the central pool and inside the country to meet the domestic demand and need.

But some experts believe that the option of wheat import can be kept open which will depend on the rise in domestic market prices because wheat will not be imported at the government level but by private traders.

An official statement said that the Food Department is keeping a close watch on the prices of wheat and is not considering making any change in the form of import duty imposed on it at present.

According to the Union Food Ministry, the government has sufficient stock of wheat available to effectively intervene in the domestic market if required.

During the current Rabi marketing season, till June 11, 2024, about 266 lakh tonnes of wheat was procured by the Food Corporation and its associated provincial agencies,

while on April 1, 2024, there was a stock of wheat in the central pool slightly more than the minimum buffer quantity.