India has no plans to import wheat for now, trade minister says

Reuters, New Delhi  :
India does not plan to import wheat and its farmers are likely to harvest a bumper crop that will boost stockpiles in the world’s second-biggest producer of the staple, the trade minister said on Saturday.
“Ground reports indicate that the crop is quite good and this year’s production is expected at a record 114 million metric tons,” Piyush Goyal told reporters.
India banned wheat exports in 2022 after output was curtailed due to a heat wave, but more recently overseas sales picked up as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent global prices to multi-year highs.
The government has sold around 6 million metric tons of wheat to local bulk buyers since June. 1, when the state-run Food Corporation of India started selling the grain from its warehouses.
Despite selling wheat from its granaries, inventories at state warehouses are likely to remain above the target of 7.46 million metric tons fixed for April 1, when a new marketing year starts, a top government official said earlier this month.