Govt likely to permit export of addl 1.5 mln tons of FCI wheat

New Delhi, Nov 26 (PTI) The government is likely to allow export of an additional 1.5 million tonnes of wheat from its godowns in order to clear surplus stocks. In July, the government had allowed export of 2 million tonnes of FCI wheat through PSUs such as MMTC, STC and PEC by March 2013. Of this, 1.5 million tonnes has been contracted 8 lakh tonnes shipped so far. "We have moved a cabinet note for export of an additional 1.5 million tonnes of wheat from the central pool. The proposal may come up for discussion soon," a senior government official said. The export of surplus foodgrains will ease storage problems as the government currently has wheat stock of 40.5 million tonnes, which is double the stipulated buffer stock requirement of 21.2 million tonnes. The foodgrains stocks have piled up in the government godowns due to record production and procurement in the last two consecutive years. Much of the FCI wheat have so far been exported to neighbouring Bangladesh besides South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Yemen, Oman, Jakarta, among others. Wheat shipments from India have fetched higher price in the range of USD 300-319 per tonne. The country produced a record 93.9 million tonnes of wheat in the 2011-12 crop year (July-June). Besides export of FCI wheat through PSUs, private trade has also shipped over 3 million tonnes of the grain since September 2011.