|
Steps to be implemented over about two weeks include ensuring
government-approved laboratories test the quality of wheat for
export, making extra rail wagons available for transport and
working with port authorities to give priority to wheat exports,
the sources said.
India, the world's biggest wheat producer after China, has been
pursuing deals to export wheat and take advantage of surplus
stocks at home and a sharp rise in global prices.
It sees the disruption caused by the conflict involving Russia,
the world's largest wheat exporter and Ukraine, another leading
supplier, as an opportunity to sell its wheat on the world
market.
Despite surplus wheat stocks, logistical bottlenecks and quality
concerns have previously stymied India's efforts to sell large
volumes on the world market.
Exports picked up last year to reach 6.12 million tonnes of
wheat from 1.12 million tonnes a year earlier.
The government sources told Reuters the new measures could
result in the export of 10 million tonnes of wheat after the new
season harvest begins this month.
They said the changes follow extensive consultations with
ministries, state governments, port and railway authorities,
export promotion bodies and big export houses.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration is keen to help
farmers and traders export higher-quality grain to show global
buyers that India can provide a steady supply of high-protein
wheat, the sources said, asking not to be named as they are not
authorised to talk to the media.
Modi's administration has recruited 213 government-approved
laboratories to test the quality of wheat for export and has
asked the state-run Bureau of Indian Standards to monitor
quality, the sources said.
They said extra warehousing capacity was being created near
ports to ensure faster turnaround times for railway wagons that
transport grain from major wheat-producing states.
India exports wheat primarily through two ports on the west
coast but would soon be able to use other ports, especially in
the east to handle wheat cargoes, the sources said.
A spokesman at the government's media wing did not respond to a
Reuters' request for comment on the subject.
In addition to raising farmers' incomes, higher exports from
India would reduce the amount the government spends on domestic
wheat, which it buys to support local growers.
(Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Barbara Lewis and
Edmund Blair)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
