Mumbai: The government will float a tender to import two million tonnes of wheat by the end of June, a senior government official said.

India, the world''s second-largest wheat producer, had cancelled a tender for importing one million tonnes of wheat last month saying the prices were high.

"The idea is to build buffer stocks," the official, who did not wish to be identified, said.

Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar had said last week that the government would import 5 million tonnes of wheat between August and December to supplement government wheat stocks for the public distribution system.

Last month, the government scrapped a 1-million tonne import tender saying the prices quoted by firms were high. The government also extended the procurement period hoping to procure about 11 million tonnes of wheat from farmers.

The government said it would buy the new season wheat from farmers until June 15 in Punjab and Haryana, the country''s top wheat producing states.

In 2006, the country had to import 5.5 million tonnes of wheat to replenish stocks, after it failed to procure only 9 million tonnes against the target of 16 million tonnes.

India consumes around 70 million tonnes annually and productionhas been stagnating around the same level. The country is likely to produce 73.7 million tonnes of wheat in 2007, up from 69.3 million tonnes last year as farmers planted wheat on over one million hectares more.