India, sitting on a huge stockpile of grains, will soon discuss lifting a ban

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on exports of wheat and common grades of rice, the farm minister said on Thursday.

Sharad Pawar told reporters a panel of ministers headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee would meet next week to discuss the issue as the country has the ability to export grains. "This will be discussed in the next meeting. We have to a take a definite view," he said.

India, the world's second-biggest wheat producer, recently approved the sale of small quantities of wheat from government stocks to neighbouring Nepal. Government officials last month said the country would sell an additional 200,000 tonnes of wheat to Nepal, despite a ban on overseas sales of the grain, and may supply limited quantities of rice to Bangladesh.

On Feb. 1, stocks of wheat at warehouses were at 20.6 million tonnes, up 22.6 percent from a year earlier, while that of rice rose 26.7 percent to 25.6 million tonnes. The government banned exports of wheat in early 2007 and prohibited overseas sales of common rice varieties in 2008.