"Now we are encouraging private sector imports. So I don't think any more will be necessary, but we are open and if required, we will import," he said.Pawar said the measures taken should help to overcome the shortage and bring down prices.Wheat prices have risen more than 30% to about Rs 1,050 (USD 22.6) per 100 kg from Rs 800  in the last six months.India's wheat crop is sowed in October and harvested in March.

The output in the last crop was about 69.48 million tonnes, according to farm ministry estimates, against a target of 75.5 million tonnes.State agencies have procured just 9.2 million tonnes of wheat in the current marketing year, against an earlier target of 16.2 million, leading to depletion of stocks.

However, good rains have raised expectations of the coming crop."This year, overall monsoon will be helpful for agriculture," Pawar said."The second spell of rains has substantially improved the situation. It will be helpful for the summer harvested crop," he added.

Wheat and rapeseed are among key summer harvested crops.The Farm Minister said the government was trying to boost the acreage of wheat in the eastern states of Bihar and West Bengal and western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, where the crop is traditionally not grown. Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are the key growing regions for wheat.