Govt looks at wheat export to Iran

With wheat stocks outstripping storage capacity,the government is learnt to be looking towards Iran for exhausting its stocks.

Food Ministry sources on Wednesday said a trade delegation from Iran,which had banned wheat import from India in 1996 over apprehensions of the presence of Karnal Bunt fungi in Indian wheat,is likely to visit Delhi early next month to explore potential wheat import from India subject to quality certifications.

The sources said the Centre was looking at wheat exports to the tune of about four million tonnes on government-to-government basis to Iran provided Tehran was satisfied by Indian measures to certify the quality of the grain.

The wheat procurement as on on Wednesday jumped to record 32 million tonnes,up by about 30 per cent over the previous season when the procurement stood at about 24.8 million tonnes on the corresponding day.