Food Minister K V Thomas on Tuesday said that an EGOM might take a decision on the issue of export of wheat next week. The EGOM might meet on May 2 next. Though Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has been advocating for lifting the ban on export of wheat, Thomas argued against it stating that overseas supply of the grain might raise the prices in the domestic market.
India is the second largest wheat producer in the world. It is expected to harvest a record 82.3 million tonnes in 2011, whereas the production last year was just about 80.8 million tonnes. The country’s annual consumption of wheat is around 76 million tonnes.
(Published 26 April 2011, 17:06 IST)
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