New Delhi: The government is not planning to ban futures trading on more agricultural commodities, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Monday.

Last week, the government had banned futures trading in soybean oil, potatoes, chick peas and rubber to control inflation, which has been hovering aboove seven per cent recently.

"India does not plan to ban futures trading in more agricultural commodities. Also, this year India will not import wheat as purchases from domestic farmers have reached a record, pressing the commodity prices down,” Pawar said.

India imported 1.8 million tonnes of wheat in 2007.

The production of wheat has slumped 41 percent globally, forcing private suppliers such as Cargill to shun auctions in India. This has enabled the government to make record purchases since wheat harvesting began in April, according to Food Corporation of India (FCI) officials.

The FCI is likely to have 21 million tonnes in reserves by July. This amount is sufficient to meet the demand for almost two years.

India's wheat production, second only to that of China, may climb to a record 76.8 million tonnes in the year ending June, up one million tonnes from last year, according to the government.

Source : IANS