The Centre on Monday asserted that the country had adequate buffer stock of wheat and rice to meet any exigencies in the wake of the West Asia conflict. It said a close watch was being kept on the food security situation and states were asked to crack down on hoarding and black marketing of essential food items.”Given the current volatile geopolitical situation, India is treading cautiously. We have adequate buffer stock of foodgrain, which is 222 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat and 380 LMT of rice. We are well-prepared for both PDS (public distribution system) and other emergency requirements. The procurement of wheat has already started through state agencies,” C Shikha, Joint Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution, said at an inter-ministerial presser here.She also noted that the domestic demand and supply of edible oil has not been disrupted by the war, and that its import from key partners like Indonesia, Argentina, Ukraine, Brazil, Malaysia and Russia continues.”The export of 15.8 LMT sugar has been permitted; out of which, 3.73 LMT has been exported to Sri Lanka, West Asia and East Africa so far,” Shikha added.Anupam Mishra, Joint Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, said no unusual volatility in prices of essential commodities had been recorded in the country since the West Asia conflict emerged.”We are predominantly looking at prices of commodities, smooth supply chain and prevention of black-marketing and hoarding of essential goods. In fact, the production of pulses has gone up as compared to last year. Today, we have 28 LMT buffer stock of pulses,” he said.”The production of horticulture crops like onion, potato and tomato has remained almost the same level as previous year, so there are no supply side constraints. The Centre has started procuring onions to prevent any kind of price volatility. Most importantly, we have set up a control room to check black marketing of essential goods and started a national consumer helpline in 17 languages, which works closely with the petroleum ministry to streamline the government’s response to the West Asia crisis,” he added.The ongoing conflict in West Asia involving Israel, the United States, and Iran has many geopolitical and geo-economic ramifications. A critical consequence of the conflict has been the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow yet strategically pivotal maritime passage along the Iranian coast, which facilitates 20 per cent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.Beyond the immediate escalation in global oil and fuel prices, the geopolitical conflict has affected many industries by spiking transportation expenses, supply-chain instability, and rising input costs, thereby amplifying inflationary stress and food insecurity in import-dependent economies.