India permits duty-free import of wheat to private trade

New Delhi, Sep 4 (UNI) India has allowed duty-free import of wheat by private trade to augment market supplies and to check the price rise.

Orders for duty-free import of wheat will be passed shortly and this facility will be available for 4-5 months only, said Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar here today.

Now there is no duty on wheat imports by the private trade, Mr Pawar told mediapersons on the sidelines of Aquaculture and Fisheries meeting here adding that the government would bring non-wheat growing areas under the cultivation of wheat in attempt to make the country self-sufficient in the commodity.

For this purpose, wheat cultivation will be extended to Assam, West Bengal and Orissa besides encouraging Bihar and Jharkhand farmers to grow wheat.

Earlier, the import duty was reduced from 50 to five per cent but the public enterprises like STC were importing at zero duty.

Consequent to poor wheat crop, particularly because of the private trade cornering a bigger share of recent harvest arrived in markets for sale, India had to go into the international market to build up the inventory with state-run Food Corporation of India.

And, it has contracted an import of 55 lakh tonnes of which a large portion has already arrived in the country.

Stocks with FCI were estimated at 7.33 million tonnes on August 1, down from 12.9 million tonnes a year ago.

Private trade has contracted imports of about 500,000 to 600,000 tonnes, but many firms had been demanding the duties be removed.

State-run State Trading Corporation has contracted imports of 3.8 million tonnes of wheat since March. Last week, it floated a fresh tender for 1.67 million tonnes.

Mr Pawar reiterated that the government would not have to import more wheat as the country has a bumper rice crop and going to have a good wheat crop in coming Rabi season with good monsoon rainfall.

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