India: Wheat buying hits record 20,71 million tonnes

New Delhi / IN. (wib) Surpassing all expectations – official and unofficial – wheat procurement by the Indian Government agencies has hit an all-time-high during the current 2008/2009 rabi marketing season (April-March), local newspapers said. India´s wheat purchases from farmers reached a record 20,71 million tonnes this week, bettering its previous high of 20,63 million tonnes achieved in 2001/2002, the government said. A bumper crop of 76,78 million tonnes in 2008, as a result of better seeds and favourable weather conditions, have helped the government build large buffer stocks even as it battles inflation ruling at 3,5 year highs. Procurement of wheat by government agencies including FCI will continue as long as farmers offer wheat at the intervention price of 1.000 INR per 100 kilograms, the government says in a statement. The total wheat procurement stood at 11,13 million tonnes in the 2006/2007 season. Depleted buffer stocks forced India to order expensive imports of 7,3 million tonnes over the last two years, and tenders floated by the world´s second-biggest consumer helped global prices soar.