India's 2013 wheat exports seen at 3 mn T - state firm official

Exports of wheat by India, the world's second-largest producer, could reach 3 million tonnes from government stocks in 2013, an official of a state-run trading firm said on Wednesday, adding that the country had sold 1 million tonnes since April.

Traders expect wheat shipments from India to rise on a potent combination of dry weather in the United States and drought in the Black Sea region.

Initially the government has set a limit of 2 million tonnes for wheat exports, but I think the exports will continue to go much higher, an official of a state-run trading company told reporters at an industry conference in Singapore.

We should easily be able to contract up to 3 million tonnes in 2013, as there is strong demand and supplies from the Black Sea region have slowed, said the official, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

India looks likely to harvest a bumper crop of wheat in 2013, its sixth in a row to exceed demand, after late monsoon rains replenished soil moisture, strengthening prospects for exports for a second year

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