World looks to India for grain export, says Goyal
He said between two to three million tonne of wheat has been exported in the last few weeks, and a contract for export of three to three and a half million tonne of wheat has been signed for the April-June quarter.
Union minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said the availability of grains has ensured total food security in the country, and the world is now looking to India for export.
He said between two to three million tonne of wheat has been exported in the last few weeks, and a contract for export of three to three and a half million tonne of wheat has been signed for the April-June quarter.
Addressing media persons at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters here, Goyal said, Two years ago the export of wheat was about 2 lakh tonne, which then went up to 20 lakh tonne, last year it was 70 lakh tonne and this year we are expecting it to go up to 100 lakh tonne. Our Annadata (farmers) have ensured that not just India but the whole world is taken care of…”
Goyal also said that the global situation, including the higher oil rates and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, is responsible for the price rise. The government is taking all measures to control inflation by removing duties on imports of several essential items like pulses, he added.
Meanwhile, the Union minister denied allegations from Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) that the Centre reneged on its promise of procuring parboiled rice from the state.
Goyal said the Union government followed the procurement policy, which is uniform for all states.
“We have clarified this on more than one occasion. The nation has one policy applicable across the country in all the states. As far as procurement for the national food security programme is concerned, we strictly abide by that policy, whether it is in Telangana, Punjab, Haryana or the northeast. Any state government that wants to supplement that through their programmes is a welcome step,” he said.
In response to a question on the stand-off with Telangana over the procurement of parboiled rice, the commerce and industry minister said the BJP had assured the Telangana farmers that if it comes to power, it will procure products outside the Food Security Act guidelines as state procurement.
He further said that it was this declaration by the BJP that prodded the chief minister to start purchasing from the farmers directly. KCR announced this week that he would procure the entire paddy stock from the farmers.
