As both Ukraine and Russia are major suppliers, India must reform procurement to seize the export opportunity in wheat production. Discuss (200 Words)
Refer - Financial Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 3 years
KEY POINTS
· The ripple effects of the war are already being felt across the world, with energy and gas prices surging as also also wheat prices breaking all barriers.
· With their supply lines terribly disrupted, there is an opportunity for India to fill up this gap. This wheat window is likely to be there at least for the next 3-4 months, if not longer.
· India has large stocks of wheat with the Food Corporation of India (FCI). India can easily go for about 15 mmt of exports of wheat.
· This will not only reduce its food subsidy bill, but also compensate for the higher costs of imports of crude oil.
· This is an opportune time for the Centre and the key wheat-growing states to chalk out a reformist action plan. Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of wheat and should have the biggest say.
· FCI should put a ceiling on the procurement expenses (including arthiya commission/fee)—say, at 3% of the MSP in all states.
· That would save the centre precious resources by plugging leakages in the PDS, help diversify agriculture towards high-value crops, and give a better deal to farmers as well as consumers.
