Andhra Pradesh, which consumes wheat worth Rs 1,000 crore annually, is starving for this grain in the last two months.

Millers fear flooding of low-cost maida and atta from neighbouring States such as Karnataka, threatening local trade.

The price of wheat has gone up to Rs 17.50 a kg in July as against Rs 12 the same month last year. The Union Government has given the nod for exports that would yield only Rs 10.40 a kg. Instead, they could supply the grain to the States, the Roller Flour Mills Association (AP) leaders said.

The association procures wheat in open markets in the North to convert it into maida and atta .

They alleged that there is hardly any grain available in the open market as the Food Corporation of India (FCI) procured heavily. The permission given to big trading houses to export wheat also contributed to the problem.

“While the country is boasting of having abundant wheat stocks, we are starving for this grain. There are islands of scarcity.

Exporters have bought huge quantity of wheat from open market and no wheat is available in the producing States such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab,” Mitesh Gupta, Honorary Secretary, said.

The shortage of raw material has already a telling impact on the 40 mills that depend on wheat.

“At least 15 of them were shutdown for lack of wheat. The industry is already down with acute power shortages,” Jitender Gupta, Past President of the association, said.

He wanted the Government to release additional stocks immediately to tide over the crisis.

FCI stock

The Government was sitting on a stock of 57 million tonnes of stocks, while the buffer norm suggest stocks of just 7.5 million.

This has created artificial scarcity in the open market, the association leaders said.

kurmanath.kanchi@thehindu.co.in

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