The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is saddled with 27 million tonnes of wheat. Since 90% of grain procured this year were under relaxed norms, these stocks have a shorter shelf life and must be used in 8 to 10 months.

FCI, sources said, is releasing these stocks to the public distribution system (PDS). This grain is shrivelled, broken and lacks lustre and the challenge is to release the grain into the market in less than a year.

Officials said PDS needs roughly 20 million tonnes and FCI has to sell the rest in the open market. But officials say they're worried over imports of wheat, which sells cheaper than the government-fixed rates of FCI wheat.

"If we allow more wheat to be imported by private players over and above what they've already lined up, there'll be fewer takers for FCI grain. This will result in huge waste and losses to the public exchequer," an official said.

The government, he said, should come out with a norm stipulating that the price of imported wheat can't be less than the price at which FCI is offering the grain in the open market.

"The government took a bold step relaxing norms to help farmers whose crops were hit in the unseasonal rain and hailstorm. There's need to protect domestic interest," said another official.

TOI has learnt that private players have concluded contracts to import about 5 lakh tonnes of wheat and so far about 67,000 tonnes have been imported. Another 50,000 tonnes are likely to reach India soon.

"Going by this trend we feel imports would be around 5 lakh tonne in this fiscal. Some import is needed to make maida and suji. The imports can be mixed with the domestic wheat which has suffered luster loss for this purpose," said a government official.

Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com