Wheat exports: India to send delegations to 9 countries

What is the News?

India has set a target of a record 10 million tonnes of wheat export in 2022-23 amid rising global demand for grain globally.

Why is India targeting to boost Wheat Exports?

Globally, Russia is the market leader for wheat exports (almost 15% share) and Ukraine is also a major producer. However, exports from these two countries have been hit by the war and sanctions.

Hence, many countries are turning to India for wheat because of the competitive price, acceptable quality, availability of surplus wheat and geopolitical reasons.

What are the steps taken by the Government of India to boost Wheat Exports?

The Government of India has sent delegations to nine countries including Morocco, Tunisia, and Indonesia to explore possibilities of boosting wheat shipments.

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has set up a task force on wheat exports with representatives from various ministries, including commerce, shipping and railways, and exporters under APEDA.

The Department of Commerce has also planned to organize a series of sensitization meetings on exports in major wheat growing states such as Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. 

What are the outcomes of these steps?

Recently, Egypt, which is one of the world’s biggest importers of wheat, has agreed to source wheat from India. 

Egypt imported 6.1 MT of wheat in 2021 and India was not part of the list of accredited countries which can export wheat to Egypt. 

Note: More than 80% of Egypt’s wheat imports estimated to be close to $2 billion in 2021 were from Russia and Ukraine. 

Source: The post is based on the article “Wheat exports: India to send delegations to 9 countries” published in PIB on 12th May 2022.