India to limit wheat stocks for traders

High wheat prices have prompted the government of India to limit the amount of wheat stocks traders can hold, said Sanjeev Chopra, the country’s food secretary.

India, the world’s second biggest wheat producer, also will provide 1.5 million tonnes of wheat to bulk consumers such as flour millers, as part of efforts to bring down prices, which have risen 8% in a month, Chopra said.

Chopra blamed rising prices on “unscrupulous elements” who are hoarding wheat stocks.

India’s wheat procurement in 2023 is set to decline by about 20% from the initial estimate as government purchases have slowed in the last few days in the face of rising local prices. Despite lower-than-expected procurement, wheat stocks are sufficient and there is no need to import, Chopra said.

India, also the world’s second-biggest consumer of wheat, banned wheat exports in May 2022 after a sharp, sudden rise in temperatures clipped output, even as export demand picked up to meet the global shortfall triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service is projecting India to produce 108 million tonnes of wheat for marketing year 2023-24 (April to March) after the heat and drought-impacted 100 million tonnes of 2022-23 led to tightened supplies for its 1.42 billion people.

Tags: prices, estimate, wheat, India, stocks, limit