Govt does a volte-face on wheat exports

Alluding to unfavorable global market conditions, the Union government has put off the decision to allow wheat exports.

Surprisingly, the move comes just after the Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar's announcement that the four-year ban on wheat exports had been revoked.

Government sources, however, disclosed that exports of rice and wheat products (maida and atta) would resume soon and the Commerce Ministry was working on last minute modalities for clearing the way.

The government's decision on wheat exports comes in the backdrop of Russian Black Sea wheat flooding the global markets, Ministry officials said, who pointed out that Russia was selling its wheat for $244 a tonne against the Indian variety priced at $300 a tonne.

According to another official, even if the government permits wheat exports, shipments would be delayed, while wheat stocks from Russia had already reached the international markets.

Pointing out that setting a minimum export price at this point would be of no help to traders, the official said that the decision on wheat exports had, therefore, been deferred for now.

It may be recalled that the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on food, headed by the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, had only last week given in-principal approval to lift the ban on wheat exports. The EGoM had also decided to allow exports of one million tonnes of common rice, in addition to keeping the overall limit on wheat product exports at 6.5 lakh tonnes.

Fieo welcomes move to permit rice exports

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Southern Region has welcomed the Group of Ministers' recent decision to permit exports of 10 lakh tonnes of non-Basmati rice.

Mr Walter D'Souza, Regional Chairman, Fieo, Southern Region, requested the authorities to issue the necessary notification at the earliest.

Calling attention to the export potential of rice from Southern India, Mr D'Souza said that exporters in the region had already risen higher in the value chain after the branding of the fine variety of rice as Sona Masoori quality, which has become among the most sought after varieties in a short time.

The ban on non-Basmati rice exports since more than three years had put exporters in serious trouble, said Mr D'Souza, considering that they had put in their valuable time and energy for marketing the said variety.

DGFT: No export limit on cotton and yarn waste

The Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has apprised about the
Union government's decision to exempt cotton and yarn waste from the
extra cap of 10 lakh bales imposed on exports of the natural fiber for
the 2010-11 season.
The DGFT said the ceiling would not apply to export of cotton waste,
including yarn waste and garneted stock, though other conditions
regarding registration of export contracts would be applicable.
It may be recalled that the government had decided on June 8 to allow
exports of an extra 10 lakh bales (170 kg each) of cotton during the
current season, following a sharp decline in prices in the domestic
market.
In October last year, the government had imposed a quantitative
restriction of 55 lakh bales on cotton exports. However, with prices
plunging 38 per cent from April onwards, they have crashed to over Rs
40,000 per candy (356 kg) currently in the domestic market after
reaching a peak of Rs 62,500 per candy in March-end.