The Hindu Business Line : Centre may not import wheat above $230-235 a tonne

Comfortably placed
The country has had a bumper crop at 73.7 mt and there is no dearth of locally available wheat.
The stocks in the Central pool at 4.7 mt tonnes are higher than the corresponding opening level of last year.

New Delhi May 1 The Centre is looking at a price not exceeding $230-235 per tonne C&F (cost and freight) in its wheat import tender of one million tonnes (mt), floated by the State Trading Corporation of India (STC) on Monday.

"We are not desperate to import the entire one mt now. If the offers are within $230-235 per tonne landed cost, we could consider buying," highly placed officials told Business Line. The main objective behind floating STC's tender was "to get wheat out of our own system".

The country has had a bumper crop this time — 73.7 mt versus last year's 69.35 mt — and there is no dearth of locally available wheat. Also, stocks in the Central pool, at 4.7 mt tonnes as on April 1, is higher than the corresponding opening level of 2.01 mt last year.

Global output

Further, global wheat output is forecast at 623.4 mt in 2007, which is more than the 590.6 mt of 2006. Australia is expected to produce 23 mt this year, up from the 10 mt of 2006. Similarly, output of Ukraine and Russia are projected to rise from 13.9 mt and 44.9 mt to 17 mt and 48 mt, respectively. And closer home, Pakistan has an exportable surplus of 1.5-2 mt and this wheat is more suited for our consumption than the red wheat of Black Sea origin.

"The domestic as well as international wheat position is comparatively better this year. So, there is no scope for price appreciation of the sort we saw last year. The wheat being held back by farmers and a section of the trade will have to come out sooner or later," the officials added.

Meanwhile, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State agencies have bought 80.66 lakh tonnes (lt) of wheat during the 2007-08 rabi marketing season (April-June) as on Tuesday. This is against the 88.42 lt procured during the corresponding period of the 2006-07 season. Of the 88.42 lt procured so far, Punjab has accounted for 54.60 lt (against last year's corresponding 66.40 lt), Haryana 25.15 lt (21.78 lt), Rajasthan 61,772 tonnes (1,133 tonnes) and Uttar Pradesh 26,609 tonnes (23,046 tonnes).

"We will definitely get 70 lt from Punjab and 30 lt from Haryana. In addition, we are looking at 7-8 lt from Uttar Pradesh, five lt from Bihar and 1-2 lt from Rajasthan. All put, we will end up at 115 lt or so, which together with the opening stocks of 47 lt, gives us 160 lt plus. Taking a monthly offtake of 10 lt, it will still leave us with a surplus of 40 lt, of which half can even be used for special welfare schemes," the officials said.

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