India Unlikely to Export Grain Near-Term - agency.

India may not allow export of wheat and rice in the near term as it aims to build a larger grain buffer, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

"Stocks are higher but not higher to an extent where we can export," Siraj Hussain, chairman and managing director of Food Corp. of India, a state-run grain procurement agency, told a conference.

"India does not have surplus to undertake large exports," he added.

Hussain said the government has set a target of building an extra 15 million tonnes of storage capacity to check huge losses of product due to inadequate facilities.

Hussain said any decision to free grain exports would only be taken after the proposed food security act comes into law.

The act plans to provide cheap foodgrains to the poor from India's massive stockpiles.

India has faced rising calls allow overseas sales of wheat and rice from the world's second-largest grain producer because its stocks are rotting.

In October, the National Advisory Council, headed by ruling Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi, recommended boosting food subsidies, a plan which, if implemented, could widen the budget deficit but secure voter support for the ruling party.

Source : in.reuters.com