India has ample wheat, rice, sugar stocks; no shortages, says Food Secretary

By Abhimanyu Sharma

Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra has said that there’s an adequate supply of wheat, rice and sugar in India, without any shortages anywhere within the country.

Recently, the Union Government had approved exports of 25 lakh metric tons (LMT) of wheat, 5 LMT wheat products, and an additional 5 LMT of sugar.

Speaking at the sidelines of the AI summit in India’s national capital, the Secretary told CNBC-TV18 that he is slated to hold a meeting with Food Secretaries of different states on February 26 to set India’s targets for the current rabi season.

On crop diversification with an aim for self-reliance in pulses and edible oils, he said that the Mission on pulses mission hopes to make India self-reliant in 4 to 5 years, adding that he expects it to take a bit longer for the country to become self-sufficient in edible oils.

Describing crop diversification as a big priority, he said that the Department of Agriculture is giving incentives to farmers to switch away from paddy, pointing out that the crop still remains in surplus while the government is devising ways to use it more effectively in the coming years.

While the government undertook a pilot project this year to reduce the proportion of broken rice in procured rice from 25% to 10% to ensure better quality for beneficiaries, the Secretary pointed out that the broken rice is still in surplus.

However, instead of transporting and storing broken rice in godowns, the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) is tying up with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) and OMCs (Oil Marketing Companies) to use broken rice for the production of ethanol.

The Secretary expressed hope to bring down procurement levels for broken rice by the next Kharif season, adding that the move will ensure availability of broken rice for distilleries in ample quantity and at reasonable prices.

This article has been republished from The CNBCTV18.