India bans wheat exports 2 days after announcing massive trade target

India bans wheat exports 2 days after announcing a massive trade target.

India has imposed an immediate ban on wheat exports as part of a drive to curb domestic price rises.

The government has said in its announcement yesterday that only exports with credit letters issued will be allowed.

Besides, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a statement that the government would allow exports at the request of other countries.

The government has taken this decision "to manage the overall food security of the country and to support the needs of neighboring and other vulnerable countries," the statement said.

With exports from the Black Sea declining since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February, global buyers are banking on India - the world's second-largest wheat producer after China.

The move to ban wheat exports comes after heavy crop losses due to the heat in March. The government is also pushing for control of inflation, which rose to 7.79 percent in April.

"The Center will send trade representatives to Morocco, Tunisia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Algeria, and Lebanon to explore the possibility of increasing wheat exports from India. , ”The government statement said on Thursday.

Earlier this month, a Reuters report quoted a senior official in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution as saying that India did not want to restrict wheat exports.

"As there are sufficient wheat stocks in the country, no action has been taken to restrict wheat exports," Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said at the time.

PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, during his new visit to Germany, told Indian immigrants at an event that the country’s farmers have been “selected to take care of the world” amid a global shortage of wheat. "At a time when humanity is facing an emergency, India is thinking of a response," he said.

Asked about the sudden change in the plan, government sources said China was taking food grains from India as crop losses had led to food security concerns there.

Government sources, who received some information about an unexpected change in the plan, said China was taking food grains from India after the crop mishap triggered food security concerns there.

India has reduced its wheat production to 105 million tonnes from 111.3 tonnes in February after a tidal wave hit the crop yields for the fifth consecutive year.

In a separate announcement, the DGFT announced that it was easing export conditions for onion seeds. "The export policy of onion seeds is included under the prohibited category, which is immediately true," it said. Onion seed was banned before export.

Video In Tamil.