Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra on Wednesday said the prices of wheat in wholesale and retail markets have come down by about Rs 5 per kg after the Centre's decision to sell 3 million tonnes of the grain in the open market, and asserted that more steps will be taken if required to ease rates. The government is closely monitoring the prices of wheat and atta (wheat flour) and, if needed, will take more steps, including offering more wheat under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS), to bring down the prices and provide relief to consumers, Chopra told reporters here. He said the government is not considering any proposal as of now to lift the ban on wheat exports, which was imposed in May last year after a sharp fall in its procurement. "From the time the OMSS was announced in January, wheat prices have come down. Wheat prices in wholesale markets are ruling less than Rs 2,500 per quintal," he said, and hoped that the prices would fall further in the coming days. The government of
Food distribution needs deeper reforms
A wartime agreement that unblocked grain shipments from Ukraine and helped temper rising global food prices will be extended by four months, the United Nations and other parties to the deal said on Thursday, preventing a price shock to some of the world's most vulnerable countries where many are struggling with hunger. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the 120-day extension a "key decision in the global fight against the food crisis". Struck during Russia's war in Ukraine, the initiative established a safe shipping corridor in the Black Sea and inspection procedures to address concerns that cargo vessels might carry weapons or launch attacks. The deal that Ukraine and Russia signed in separate agreements with the UN and Turkey on July 22 was due to expire on Saturday. Russia confirmed the extension but said it expected progress on removing obstacles to the export of Russian food and fertilisers. Ukraine and Russia are key global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil
The Centre's comments are significant as the G7 countries have criticised India's ban on wheat exports
The Centre has set a target of 307.33 million tonne of foodgrains production for the current 2021-22 crop year ending June
Started by Kanpur's Shramik Bharti, these food centres work on a community model
Rising costs to ship crops globally are adding to concerns about food inflation that are already at decade-highs and hitting cost-sensitive consumers in import-dependent markets
India's foodgrain production is estimated to rise 2 per cent in 2020-21 crop year to an all-time high of 303.34 million tonnes
Rice production target has been fixed at 117.5 mn tonnes, while the wheat production target has been kept at 106.5 mn tonnes
All states have been asked to take foodgrains from the Centre in advance for distribution through the PDS
Maize acreage is expected to go up, but output may fall by 5.75 percent due to the massive armyworm infestation.
Experts believe the government is committed to buy wheat and rice from Punjab and Haryana, given the political forces there