Lack of knowledge, fear of political criticism are some of the reasons that are stopping FCI, according to experts What is stopping Food Corp. of India Ltd (FCI) from selling its ample Wheat stocks in the open market and buying futures contracts to meet its distribution commitments in the months ahead? Or, for that matter, what is keeping the food procurement agency from selling grain futures internationally, knowing that a bumper crop...

-Live Mint After a record harvest of 90.23 mt this year, the govt’s Wheat stocks were at 38.2 mt as of 1 May Worry lines run deep on the faces of wheat farmers in Sehrala in Haryana as falling prices, higher input costs and poor infrastructure erode earnings and cast doubt over not just their next crop, but their future in agriculture as well. Agents in the grain market of Ballabgarh said spot...

A panel headed by the PM's chief economic advisor C Rangarajan has recommended exporting 2 million tonnes (mt) of wheat at a subsidy of Rs 1,500 crore through government channels and another 1 mt through private traders at a subsidy of Rs 150 crore. Warning that just exports would not be enough to manage the overflowing godowns and could cause political problems, the panel has also recommended distribution of 8 mt...

What stops the government from using good harvests to reduce, if not eliminate, hunger? For ordinary folk, a 3 per cent increase in food grain production over that of last year, combined with strong procurement operations and good buffer stocks of rice and wheat would be a cause for some celebration. It would be seen as an opportunity to tackle the widespread food insecurity that exists in India today. Instead, we...

-The Times of India Food Corporation of India (FCI) has warned that unless the government can distribute 750 lakh tonnes of food grain, there will be no storage space for the bumper harvest being currently procured, the food ministry told Rajya Sabha on Monday. The crisis of plenty has been engaging the government for a while as it is under pressure to distribute food grain to the poor or intervene in some...