Wheat industry demands import duty reduction to curb speculation and price volatility

The wheat processing industry of India has demanded that the government should reduce the import duty on wheat, as climate uncertainties have increased the price volatility and speculation.

The industry expects to import 2 to 3 million tonnes of wheat to increase availability and in turn curb the speculation.

However, the government has maintained that it has sufficient stock of wheat in the country and the industry should try to curb inflationary pressures by passing on the benefits of government schemes like OMSS to the consumers.



Navneet Chitalangia, president, Roller Flour Millers’ Federation of India (RFMFI) said, “There is uncertainty about climate and prices, which is leading to increase in speculative activity. To control the market volatility, we want to increase the availability as much as possible.”

“After the procurement process is over, ensuing farmers get the right prices, the government should reduce the import duty to nil or keep it less than 10% from the existing 40%. This will help the flour industry from south India to import about 2 to 3 million tonnes of wheat and reduce industry’s dependence for wheat supplies on the government,” said Navneet Chitlangia, president, RFMFI.

The industry has also demanded that the export of wheat products like aata, rava, maida etc. After the heat waves of 2022 cut India’s wheat production, India has banned export of wheat and all wheat products except aata. The export of aata is allowed only against advanced authorisation scheme, in which, the companies have can import wheat, process and export the aata in 180 days.

“Only the big companies are able to export aata. They have also captured the markets developed by other smaller companies,” said Chitalangia.

BOX: Govt asks industry to ensure that the benefits of government schemes reach consumers and curb inflationary trends:

Sanjeev Chopra, secretary, Department of Food and Consumer Affairs in his message sent to the RFMFI said, “Government has sufficient stocks of wheat to meet own requirements and also for necessary market interventions. This year Government has offloaded 30 lakh tonnes of wheat to processors/millers though Open Market Sales Scheme (OMSS-D).”

He added, “The Federation must maintain oversight over its members to ensure that the benefits of OMSS conducted by FCI reach the consumer and inflationary tendencies are curbed.”

Wheat production to increase by nearly 4%:

The initial estimate of wheat production by the Roller Flour Millers’ Federation of India has pegged India’s 2025-26 wheat production 110 million tonnes against last year’s 105-106 million tonnes.

The production estimate of the government for last year was of 113.2 million tonnes, while the government’s production target for the current 2025-26 is 115 million tonnes.

“We will have a robust crop of wheat this year,” said Chitalangia of RFMFI.

The wheat stocks with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) as on March 2 is 14.41 million tonnes against the buffer norm of 7.46 million tonnes as on April 1.

Demand for Wheat Board:

The wheat industry has demanded established of a Wheat Board on the lines of the Makhana Board and the Spice Board.

“The Board will help to synchronise the work of the scientists, the industry and the government,” said Rohit Khaitan, Vice President, RFMFI.