According to the official notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade on May 13, wheat exports have been suppressed by India with an immediate effect as a component of measures to regulate increasing domestic prices. Still and all, the export shipments for which absolute letters of credit (LoC) have been furnished on or before the date of this notification will be allowed.
The DGFT also stated that wheat exports will be permitted if the Indian government sanctions permission to other nations to meet their food security needs and as per the request of their governments. The DGFT announced the easing of export conditions for onion seeds, in a separate notification. The export strategy of onion seeds has been put under the restricted category instantaneously. However, the export of onion seeds was proscribed earlier.
The export ban method has approached due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine which are vital exporters of the foodgrain. Because of vigorous global demand, wheat exports in India rose to seven million tonnes, worth USD 2.05 billion in 2021-22. A target to purchase a record 44.4 million tonnes of wheat in the 2022-23 financial year was set by the Centre.
As of May 1 in the present Rabi marketing season, India’s wheat procurement has also decreased sharply by 44% to 16.2 million tonnes, due to heavy lifting by private traders and low arrivals in Haryana and Punjab.