Quick Edit | Reducing a mountain

Caught between a growing mountain of foodgrains and a storage crisis, the government now plans to export 2 million tonnes of wheat.

There is a catch, however: exporting wheat will require a subsidy of Rs1,000 crore as the international price of wheat is less than its domestic price.

Clearly, the idea has come a bit late to the government. At the moment, the gap between the stocks of grains in its hands and its storage capacity is only widening. Then, there have been mindless arguments against exporting the mountain of foodgrains that is rotting in the country.

The government’s efforts may or may not succeed. But there are lessons it should not ignore in the future. Ideological debates should have no place in formulating policy. The government also needs a better sense of quantities it purchases and its storage capacity before matters get out of hand.