The government immediately banned the export of wheat to manage food supply

The central government has placed wheat exports under the “prohibited” category in an effort to manage the country’s overall food security and in need of support from neighboring and vulnerable countries.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in an official statement issued on Friday evening that wheat exports would be allowed as a transitional measure in case of shipments where an unchangeable credit letter (ILOC) was issued in May or earlier. 13.

It added that the central government would be allowed to meet their food security needs in other countries and export them at the request of the government.

“The Government of India is committed to meeting the food security requirements of India, its neighbors and other weakly developing countries that are adversely affected by abrupt changes in the global market for wheat and are unable to access adequate wheat supplies,” read the notice. .

Meanwhile, India will send trade representatives to nine countries, including Morocco, Tunisia and Indonesia, to explore the possibility of increasing wheat shipments as a target of 10 million tonnes of grain exports in 2022-23.

The Commerce Ministry has formed a task force on wheat exports with representatives from various ministries, including trade, shipping and railways and exporters, under the auspices of the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), it said on Thursday.

The demand for Indian wheat in the global market has increased and farmers, traders and exporters have been advised to follow all the quality rules of the importing countries so that India emerges as a reliable supplier of grain.

According to estimates by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, India exported 7 million tons (MT) of wheat in 2021-22 valued at USD 2.05 billion.

About 50 percent of the total shipment of wheat was exported to Bangladesh in the last financial year.

(With PTI input)

Read more: Record 1.4 million tons of wheat sold in April, 1.5 metric tons could be exported in May