Taras shevchenko, University in Kyiv, Ukraine

The government has reiterated that there is no shortage of wheat stock in the central pool.In a written reply to Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said: "As on 01.07.2022, the actual stock of wheat is 285.10 Lakh Metric Tons (LMT) against the Buffer norm of 275.80 LMT."In reply to another question on whether it is true that wheat procurement has fallen since there was a spurt in private procurement who bought wheat directly from farmers, the minister agreed to it."The procurement of wheat has fallen due to higher purchase of wheat by traders as the market price of wheat had shot up due to prevailing international geopolitical situation," the Union Minister said."Moreover, if the farmer gets better price in comparison to MSP, they are free to sell their produce in open market."Wheat prices rising above MSP essentially means the Centre had to purchase lesser quantities under the price guarantee scheme as the farmers are already getting higher prices for their produce from the private buyers.Notably, prices of wheat remain on the lower side during this time of the year as freshly harvested rabi crops make their way into the physical markets -- mandis.This year, the conflict in Ukraine led to a spurt in the grain prices as both the countries involved in the ongoing war are major producers of wheat.In May 2022, the Centre amended the export policy of wheat by putting its export under the "prohibited" category.Farmers have not suffered any losses due to the ban imposed on the export of wheat, the minister had recently said.The government had then stated that the move was made with the purpose to manage the overall food security of the country as well as meeting the needs of the neighbouring and other vulnerable countries.After a ban on exports of wheat grain, the Centre has recently put restrictions on the exports of wheat flour (atta) exports and other related products like maida, semolina (rava / sirgi), wholemeal atta and resultant atta from July 12. It makes it mandatory for all exporters to seek prior permission from the inter-ministerial committee on wheat export before undertaking any outbound shipment.Further, to a question on whether there is a possibility of reduction in Kharif area under cultivation due to fluctuations in monsoon, the minister said sowing has commenced on time in major parts of the country.The area sown under Kharif crops reported as on July 25 is 773.97 lakh hectares compared to last year's corresponding period 768.87 lakh hectares.On Kharif procurement, he said the target for 2022-23 has not been finalized yet.( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Taras ShevchenkoFOLLOW

Taras shevchenko, Latest News

Brussels, Aug 6 The European Union (EU) has evacuated 1,000 patients from Ukrainian hospitals as the war-torn country's ... ...

Kiev, Aug 5 Russian forces at Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine are employing "terror tactics" by ... ...

Kiev, Aug 5 Ukraines military intelligence chief has revived a theory that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using ... ...

London/Kiev, Aug 5 Action by Russian forces is likely jeopardising security and safety at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power ... ...

Amid the uncertainty surrounding the future of Indian students who returned from war-ravaged Ukraine, the Centre has said that the ground situation in that country does not permit the return of Indian students. ...

New York, Aug 4 As the war in Ukraine continues to rage, skyrocketing energy prices are compounding an ... ...

United Nations, Aug 4 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that he will set up a fact-finding mission ... ...

The government has reiterated that there is no shortage of wheat stock in the central pool. ...