NEW DELHI: India has lowered the limit of wheat stocks that traders and millers can hold, the government said on Friday, to help boost the grain’s availability and moderate prices.

Traders can now hold only 2,000 metric tons of wheat against 3,000 metric tons earlier, the statement said. The government has also tightened stock-holding limits for wheat processors.

INDIA REMOVES FLOOR PRICE FOR BASMATI RICE EXPORTS

India removed a floor price for basmati rice exports on Friday, according to a government order, to help farmers boost overseas sales of the premium grade just weeks ahead of the arrival of the new-season crop.

Last year New Delhi set a floor price, or minimum export price (MEP), of $1,200 a metric ton and later cut the MEP to $950 a ton. As supplies picked up since then, exporters urged the government to either cut or remove the MEP to ensure that farmers do not get saddled with large stocks when the new-season crop arrives in a month’s time.

India and Pakistan, the only growers of basmati, both try to promote the premium grade of rice in a manner similar to French Champagne or Darjeeling tea. New Delhi exports 4 million to 5 million metric tons of basmati - the premium long-grain variety famed for its aroma - to countries such as Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. Europe is another big market for the rice.