FCI may procure 13.5 mt wheat
Citing reports of higher wheat output this year, Food Corporation of India (FCI) today said it expected to lift at least 13.5 million tonnes of wheat in 2008-09, up by 2.3 million tonnes over the current fiscal. "This year (2008-09), the wheat procurement from across the country by FCI is expected to be between 13.5 and 15 million tonnes of wheat which is quite high as compared to procurement done in earlier years,' FCI Chairman and Managing Director Alok Sinha told reporters here today. He said, "The major factors behind the increase in procurement will be higher MSP, good crop in Punjab, Haryana, Northern Rajasthan and Western Uttar Pradesh, and low interest of private buyers in buying the crop.' FCI procured 9.2 million tonnes of wheat in 2006-07, followed by 11.2 million tonnes lifted in 2007-08. With the procurement of 13.5 million tonnes of the crop, the wheat stock of the country would reach 18.8 million tonnes. "From April 1 this year, we will have a stock of 5.3 million tonnes of wheat and if we add the figure of expected lifting then it will reach 188 lakh tons,' Sinha said. From Punjab and Haryana alone, FCI expects to lift 8.5 million tonnes and 40 million tonnes of wheat respectively, he informed. The agency predicts that the private buyers would not be aggressive this year for wheat buying due to stabilised domestic wheat prices. Elaborating on the low interest of private traders in wheat buying this year, Sinha said, "The wholesale prices of wheat in domestic market remained lower in 2007-08 than the prices in 2006-07, although the global prices remained high.' Moreover, the domestic wheat prices are stabilised at the moment. Therefore, in view of such a situation, private buyers will not as much as aggressive they were in 2006-07, he added. He said that the private buyers procured 3 million tonnes of wheat last year from the country and they did not make expected gains from this buying. As far as rice procurement is concerned, Sinha said FCI would buy 27 million tonnes of rice by September 30 this year as against rice procurement of 25 million tonnes last year.