The Government has revised its wheat estimates from about 73.7 million tonnes to 75 million tonnes. Though the final estimates are yet to be released officially, this is expected to add to the shrillness of those alleging that the Government has made an error in judgment while importing at a high price.

Being the second biggest producer of wheat, even a few million here and there affects world wheat prices. From 72.5 million tonnes quoted initially in the first estimates put out by the Government when the wheat was just planted, it revised it to 73.7 million tonnes in April. In the fourth advance estimates for this cropping season, it is now closer to 75 million tonnes. This estimate is the only one based on actual crop cutting experiments across farmers’ fields. Reports are that both the yield and the acreage is up. The market buzz is that it is even higher, closer to 78 million tonnes.

The Government needs 12 million tonnes of wheat for welfare programmes and has managed to procure around 11 million tonnes of new season wheat from farmers. The rest has been bought by private companies and millers.

Even though the procurement is enough to meet the demands of PDS, the Government decided to import wheat. Last week, the State Trading Corporation finalised a tender for 5.11 lakh tonnes of wheat from global suppliers, who bid for a tender to supply 10 lakh tonnes of grain.

The Opposition parties are crying foul over the fact that STC had on May 30 cancelled a tender to import 10 lakh tonnes of wheat on grounds that the negotiating price of $263 was very high. However, barely a month later, it invited fresh bids till July 4. Seven companies including Cargill, Glencore and Toepfer quoted a price in the range of $318-370 a tonne.

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