India will review bans on exports of wheat and basmati rice, but shipments of other grades of rice will not be allowed at least until November, the country’s farm minister, Sharad Pawar, told Reuters.
India last exported wheat in the 2003/04 fiscal year and became an importer in the past two years, but a bumper crop has helped the government purchase from local farmers a record 24.8 million tonnes of the staple this year.
Pawar said on Thursday that a government panel, called the empowered group of ministers (EGOM), would soon consider lifting the ban on wheat exports.
"We will think. There is an EGOM. We will discuss it in the EGOM," Pawar said.
He said India had 5.8 million tonnes of wheat on April 1 against a target of 4 million tonnes and the record procurement had helped stocks swell so much that the government had enough supplies for 21 months for subsidised supply to the poor and other welfare schemes.
But controls on non-basmati rice exports would continue at least until November, when summer-sown paddy would be harvested as the government would take no chances with domestic supply, Pawar said.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation raised on Thursday its rice output forecast for 2008 by 1 million tonnes to 667 million tonnes on the back of improved outlook from Cambodia, but said food prices would remain high for a decade.
Pawar said he favoured lifting the ban only for basmati rice exports as the premium grade of grain was either exported or consumed by the rich, not used for subsidised supply to the poor.
"If farmers want to earn a little bit of money, basmati is the crop where they can earn some money. Not a single grain of basmati comes to my kitty for the public distribution system."
Pawar said rival suppliers may push out India from the international basmati market if exports were not resumed and that would hurt Indian farmers, who would find it difficult to regain their market share.
He said the government was keen, but not in a hurry, to help neighbouring countries, which have asked the Indian government to supply rice.
"For the time being, no. We are eager to help. I have got requests from many neighbouring countries. Procurement will take at least three months to get completed and then we will access the situation," he said.
Rice prices have eased from record highs set in late April on signs that global supplies will improve and expectations that Vietnam will lift export curbs from July. Cambodia decided on Monday to lift a two-month export ban.
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