India wheat futures tad higher on exports

MUMBAI, July 6 (Reuters) - Indian wheat futures opened a tad higher on Monday after the country allowed limited exports of the grain, but soaring stocks trimmed gains, analysts said.

India has allowed the export of 900,000 tonnes of wheat by state-run firms and 650,000 tonnes of wheat products by private trade as monsoon rains revived after a dry spell.

The government rejected demands of an export subsidy, making shipments viable only to neighbouring Bangladesh, traders said.

India has accumulated a huge surplus of wheat after banning exports two years ago. See [DEL53288]

At 10:15 a.m, August futures contract NWTQ9 on National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange was up 0.04 percent at 1,088.6 rupees per 100 kg.

India purchased 24.75 million tonnes of wheat in 2008/09 marketing year beginning April 1, sharply up from 22.26 million tonnes bought the year ago, as per the latest data available.

India is expected to buy a record 25 million tonnes of wheat from farmers in the current season, up 11 percent from a year earlier, government officials said on June 10. See [nDEL435822]

(Reporting by Sourav Mishra; Editing by Sunil Nair)