UPDATE 1-India's grain stocks to beat target on good crop

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NEW DELHI, Aug 22 (Reuters) - India's grain stocks are set to jump above government targets, the food ministry said on Friday, helped by record production in the crop year ended June.

Higher food stock in India, the world's second-biggest grower of rice and wheat, eases concerns of a shortage in world markets and keeps global grain prices in check, analysts say.

India's rice stocks on Sept. 1 are estimated at 6.24 million tonnes against a target of 5.2 million tonnes, the food ministry said in a statement.

It said the government has bought 26.68 million tonnes of rice from local farmers between Oct. 1, 2007 and Aug. 18, 2008, up 6.26 percent from a year earlier.

Wheat stocks on April 1, 2009, when the new marketing year begins, are expected at 7.86 million tonnes against a target of 4 million tonnes, the ministry said.

India grows only one wheat crop in a year, with planting in October and harvest in March.

The government buys wheat from farmers in March and April, while rice purchase begins in October and lasts for a year.

The government stores grains for supplying to the poor at lower rates and as a buffer to curb sharp price rises.

Separately, the finance ministry said in a statement the government had approved to sell 6 million tonnes on wheat from its stocks in open markets to curb inflation which hit a 13-year high of 12.6 percent in early August. (Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)