Fearing a price rise in essential food items due to poor monsoons, the government is considering imposing restrictions on sugar export and a ban on wheat shipments through private traders.
"The food ministry is preparing a status note on the exports of sugar, wheat and non-basmati rice for Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)," a senior government official said.
The ministry is considering various steps to rein in the price rise of these items, which includes putting a cap on sugar exports at 1.5 million tonnes (mt), and suspending wheat shipments, the official said.
On the back of bumper production, the government had lifted the four-year-old ban on wheat exports in September 2011. So far, two million tonnes of wheat has been exported.
For sugar, the Centre had allowed two million tonnes of exports in the initial few months of the current marketing year (October-September). In May 2012, it put exports under the open general licence (OGL).
Although the country has surplus wheat and sugar output, prices of these two items have shown an upward trend, amid concerns over a possible fall in production following weak monsoons.
Sugar prices have risen Rs 6-8 a kg in the last one month and are ruling at Rs 40 a kg in most parts of the country. According to the government's inflation data, wheat prices have gone up seven-eight per cent in June from over the year-ago period. The official, however, clarified there is no plan to ban export of wheat from the government stocks.
Already, the commerce ministry has issued export permits for 1.48 mt of sugar under the OGL, of which 0.86 million tonnes has been shipped.
On non-basmati rice, the official noted prices are stable and there is no need to curb shipments. However, he said the ministry is keeping a close watch on the prices of non-basmati rice.
The country has exported six million tonnes of non-basmati rice since September 2011, when the government lifted ban on the shipment.
India harvested 104.32 mt of rice, 93.90 mt of wheat and 26 mt of sugar in 2011-12.
