India had 25.1 million tonnes of wheat in government warehouses as of January 1, sources said on Thursday, more than three times the target, potentially making it easier for the Government to allow exports to cash in on attractive global prices.

Bumper harvests since 2007 have led to huge stockpiles of rice and wheat with the government, which buys from farmers to meet emergencies and run welfare programmes.

India's milled rice inventory at the beginning of January was 11.7 million tonnes against a target of 11.8 million tonnes. Government's rice inventory target is for paddy or unmilled rice.

India in 2011 lifted a four-year-old ban on wheat and non-basmati rice exports to offload grains from its bulging bins. The country has shipped out nearly 7 million tonnes of wheat from its warehouses in the past few years.

Since 2009, the government has kept an additional 3 million tonnes of wheat and 2 million tonnes of rice as strategic reserves in addition to the monthly stocks.

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