By IANS
New Delhi : India is not planning any fresh wheat imports as there is enough stock to meet domestic demand, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said here Wednesday.
“We have enough stocks to meet domestic demand. We are not planning any fresh imports as of now,” Pawar told reporters on the sidelines of the 5th Millennium Knowledge Summit organised by Assocham.
The minister’s comments come in the wake of demands from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as the Left, that the government institute an inquiry into the decision to import wheat when there was adequate domestic stock.
Earlier this month, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MP Brinda Karat had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to protest the government’s decision to import 790,000 tonnes of wheat at an average price of $390 per tonne.
She had also criticised the government for deciding to import five million tonnes of wheat in April this year.
What has sparked the controversy is the government’s decision to import wheat despite a jump in domestic production.
India’s import of wheat would also put pressure on the price of the commodity in the international market.
On Tuesday, Pawar said his ministry was constantly monitoring world wheat prices, which, he said, had gone sky high along with that of edible oils.
Earlier, speaking at the inaugural session of the Assocham summit, the agriculture minister said the government accorded top priority to food security.
“For a country like India, the world’s second most populous country, food security will be the top priority for any government.”
He said domestic demand for wheat had increased because there were changes in dietary habits across the country.
“Earlier, southern and northeastern states mainly demanded rice from me, but in the last two years the demand for wheat has increased. When I asked people why this is so, they said youth in these regions preferred bread for breakfast rather than the traditional breakfast.”
The minister said given this increase in demand, the few states that produce wheat had come under pressure.
“Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and parts of Uttaranchal and Gujarat produce wheat. And these states have to cater to the demands of the entire country.”