The government has no plans to import wheat and sugar as there is enough availability domestically, Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said. The Minister also said that the Centre was not considering any proposal, as of now, to remove the export ban on wheat, rice and sugar.
“Wheat production is expected to reach the highest level of 114 million tonnes (in the current 2023-24 crop year). There is no question of importing wheat. We have sufficient stocks,” Goyal said at a media briefing on Saturday.
Prices to decline
The Minister said that States including Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, had given feedback of bumper wheat production and the government expected wheat prices to decline.
On sugar, the Minister said that its consumption in the country was flat and there was no plan or need to import the commodity.
Goyal said that the government also did not have any plans to remove export restrictions on wheat, non-basmati rice and sugar though it was exporting rice to friendly countries to meet their food security needs.
India has provided rice to countries like Indonesia, Senegal, and Gambia, the Minister pointed out.
To avoid shortage in the domestic market and check spiralling prices, India had banned wheat exports in May 2022, non-basmati rice exports in July 2023 and extended curbs on sugar exports beyond October 2023.