India may end wheat export ban

India, the world’s second-largest wheat grower, may end a ban on exports of the grain as production is expected to exceed forecasts, reported Bloomberg.

“We are expecting a bumper wheat output,” junior farm minister Arun Yadav said to reporters in New Delhi today. Production will be more than the government’s last estimate of 81.47 million metric tons, he said.

India banned wheat exports in early 2007 to bolster domestic supplies. Record harvests in the years since then and purchases from farmers boosted stockpiles of rice, wheat and other grains to 46 million tons in state warehouses as of March 1, according to data from the Food Corp. of India.

“We are thinking of allowing exports,” Yadav said. A decision will be taken at the end of April or the first week of May, he said. “By then a clear picture about output will emerge.”