Govt allows export of 50,000 tonnes of foodgrains to Oman

NEW DELHI: India today allowed the export of 50,000 tonnes of wheat and non-basmati rice to Oman on diplomatic grounds.

"We have cleared export of 40,000 tonnes of wheat and 10,000 tonnes of non-basmati rice to Oman through a diplomatic channel," Food Minister K V Thomas told PTI here.

Yesterday, the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee-headed Empowered Group of Ministers on Food (EGoM) permitted the export of one million tonnes of wheat and non-basmati rice to neighbouring countries on a government-to-government basis.

Out of one million tonnes, 50,000 tonnes of wheat and non-basmati rice will be exported to Oman, Thomas said.

Facing the problem of overflowing foodgrain stocks, India lifted an over three-year-old ban on the export of non-basmati rice yesterday and allowed the shipment of one million tonnes.

India, the world's second largest producer of wheat and rice, held stocks of 64.12 million tonnes of foodgrains as on July 1, which is more than double the buffer stock norm.

According to official data, the country is estimated to have harvested a record 84.27 million tonnes of wheat and 94.11 million tonnes of rice in the 2010-11 crop year.