Nations send in requests after wheat export ban

UAE, South Korea, Oman and Yemen write to the govt seeking supplies

India has received special requests from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Korea, Oman and Yemen for wheat after the government banned exports on May 13.

“UAE has expressed concern about the wheat export ban through our ambassador to the country. Requests for wheat have also come from the governments of South Korea, Oman and Yemen. However, we are ascertaining whether the request from Yemen is from the officiallyrecognised government or the self-proclaimed government. We are yet to take a call on what would be the quantity of wheat exports to these countries,” said a government official .

However, the official said no request has come from Bangladesh or Nepal for wheat. Bangladesh takes half of India’s total wheat exports.

While imposing the export ban, the commerce ministry said, “Export will be allowed on the basis of permission granted by the government of India to other countries to meet their food security needs and based on the request of their governments.”

The government also allowed a wheat consignment of 61,500 million tonnes (MT) for Egypt after the export ban. It was already under loading at the Kandla port.

“There were five ships which were loading wheat of 3 lakh tonnes when the notification was made. Hence, we issued that clarification,” the official said.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF), trade minister Piyush Goyal said, “We will continue to allow exports for governments which are in serious need. Those which are friendly to us, where we have great relations, and (if) we recognise their letter of credits those (exports) will be allowed. We will be doing to the best of our ability and we will continue to export.”

Export demand from India has seen a surge this year due to the shortage of wheat in the world markets because of the Russia-ukraine war.

The decision to stem the flow of wheat for exports came after procurement for the 2022-23 season struggled to reach the revised target of 19.5 million tonnes. This target was almost 56 per cent lower than the original procurement estimate of 44.4 MT.

Procurement dropped as farmers sold their wheat to private traders lured by prices, which were higher than the state-mandated minimum support price (MSP) of ~2,015 per quintal.

Officials fear that an abnormally low level of stocks could keep flour prices high in the coming months. It may also crimp the Centre’s option to intervene in the market to cool down flour rates.

Goyal said India was never ever a traditional player in the international wheat market. “Until two years ago, we didn’t even export wheat from India. Last year, we exported about 7 million tonnes. This year, we were expecting the wheat production to grow about 78 per cent. Sadly, we had a very severe heat wave in most parts of North India. Wheat had to be harvested early and we lost production. Initial estimates show it will be down 7-8 per cent,” he added.

Sources said there are at least eight countries, excluding India, such as Egypt, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Kosovo, Ukraine and Belarus that have exercised export restrictions on wheat.

The decision to stem the flow of wheat for exports came after procurement for the 2022-23 season struggled to reach the revised target of 19.5 million tonnes, which was almost 56% lower than the original procurement estimate