The rise in global wheat prices by almost 50% in less than two months as commodity markets factor in a sharp drop in exportable surplus has not touched India, among world’s biggest producers and consumers of wheat. What’s more surprising, domestic futures prices too are unlikely to show any appreciable rise, going by the trend in India’s commodity markets. Barring minor blips, August and September wheat futures at NCDEX, largest exchange for...

The National Advisory Council's move to restrict universalisation of the PDS to the most disadvantaged districts may ultimately end up limiting its impact. RECENT weeks have seen rather contradictory statements on the challenge of ensuring food security and the set of feasible initiatives for managing the food economy. To start with, the National Advisory Council (NAC), which recognises the need for a universal public distribution system (PDS), and which was expected to...

Today, the Supreme Court of India will hear arguments in what is emerging as a national disgrace: One of the world’s largest stockpiles of foodgrain going to rot and rodent because the government lacks the vision, ability and commitment to either store it properly or distribute it to the poor. Let me recap what I reported on the front-page of this paper last month: About a third of India’s grain reserves,...

“Consider increasing quantum of food supply to BPL population” ‘Consider opening fair price shops for all the 30 days in a month' A Bench passed the order, taking on record affidavit filed by Centre To deal with the problem of foodgrains rotting in godowns, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to consider distributing them at “very low cost” or “no cost” as a short term measure. A Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari...

Amidst predictions by FAO of a record world cereal production of 2279.5 million tonnes during 2010-2011, the bad news is that drought conditions may bring down Russia's domestic wheat production to 50 million tonnes in the current year from 63.7 million tonnes in 2008-09. Russia has already imposed a temporary ban on wheat exports. This has pushed up international prices of wheat contradicting the prediction of FAO's Food Outlook 2010...