How Much Is That Piggie In The Pokey?

Those slippery snakes the Indian government have so much wheat that they are looking relax a ban on exports and get shot of some, according to media reports.

Yet at the same time Indian flour millers are importing wheat from Kazakhstan and Australia.

So what's going on here then?

India's attempt to offload 400,000 next door to Bangladesh has hit a small technical hitch or is "caught in negotiations" as one media report describes it.

The Indians want to recoup their own ludicrously high domestic support price by asking their Bangladeshi chums to stump up USD370/tonne for their wheat. Bangladesh are understandably reticent to support the Indian economy by coughing up a highly inflated price compared to what is on the table elsewhere.

The Indians are quick to extol the virtues of their own wheat, in much the same way that they would try to sell you an "Armani" silk suit or a 24 carat "Rolex" no doubt.

What's so good about Indian wheat? Well there's no need to add any water to turn it into bread is there, they thoughtfully left it out in the fields for a couple of years already for you just to soak up all of nature's goodness.