New Delhi: The Indian government has decided to lower how much wheat traders and millers can keep in stock. This change is being made to help bring down prices. By limiting the amount of wheat that traders, like wholesalers and big stores, can hold, the government hopes to stop hoarding and make sure there’s enough wheat available for everyone. These kinds of limits are usually set when wheat is hard to find or too expensive.
According to the government, India produced a good amount of wheat this year — around 113.2 million tonnes. As a result, traders can now keep only 1,000 tonnes, down from 2,000 tonnes. Wheat processors also have new limits, allowed to store only 50% of what they can process in a month.
Many people believe that the price of wheat has climbed recently, but the new limit of 1,000 tonnes isn’t too strict. CP Gupta, a trader from Kota, Rajasthan, said it’s a fair measure and that the limits should change when prices go down.
In addition, India’s inflation is higher than the Reserve Bank of India’s target of 4%, with retail prices reaching 6.21% in October — the highest in 14 months. Food prices went even higher at 10.47%. Last week, the Reserve Bank decided to keep interest rates the same at 6.5% despite a slowdown in the economy, mainly due to ongoing issues with rising food prices.
India, known as the second-largest wheat producer in the world, once banned wheat exports to control rising prices after bad weather affected production in 2022 and 2023. However, this year, they have lifted that ban.
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