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What is the News?
Egypt has approved India as a wheat supplier. This comes amid a sharp dip in global wheat production, largely because of the Russia-Ukraine war.
About Wheat
Wheat is a Rabi Crop. It is the second most important cereal crop in India after rice. It is mostly consumed in the north and north-west parts of the country.
Suitable Climate: It is grown at a temperature of 10-15 °C (Sowing time) and 21-26 °C (Ripening & Harvesting) with bright sunlight. It requires a rainfall of 75 to 100 cm.
Major wheat growing states in India are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Gujarat.
About Wheat Exports
Russia and Ukraine accounted for nearly one-third of global wheat exports.
Egypt is the world’s biggest importer of wheat.
India in Wheat Exports: India is the second-largest producer of wheat, with a share of around 14.14% of the world’s total production in 2020.
The top countries importing Indian wheat in 2020-21 were Bangladesh, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka.
India accounts for less than 1% of the world’s wheat export. However, its share has increased from 0.14% in 2016 to 0.54% in 2020.
India has a target to export nearly 10 million tonnes of wheat in FY23 to bridge the supply gaps arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Source: This post is based on the article “Egypt approves India as wheat supplier” published in Livemint on 16th April 2022.
