The ban on wheat exports has not hurt Indian farmers as has been alleged by some ‘ignorant’ Opposition leaders, Union Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday, stressing that the government’s pro-active decision had saved the country from a ‘catastrophic disaster’.
Promising a probe into all wheat export transactions, the Minister said the ‘immediate’ halt announced last month had ensured there were adequate stocks for domestic consumers and prices had already fallen about ₹5 a kilo at the retail level, Mr. Goyal said. Farmers, he argued, had already sold their produce before the ban, which was reflected in the government’s inability to procure more than 6 lakh tonnes of wheat after the ban.
“Farmers had already sold their produce and having sold it, if they, the traders would have indiscriminately exported it at high profit, beyond a point, it could have been harmful for our own food security, our own requirement and prices could have sky-rocketed,” Mr. Goyal said.
