India bans exports of wheat, citing threat to food security

New Delhi, May 14 (BNA): India has banned wheat exports with immediate effect, citing a risk to its food security, in part due to the war in Ukraine.

The Associated Press (AP) reported in a notice in the Official Gazette by the Directorate of Foreign Trade, dated Friday, that the rise in world prices of wheat threatens the food security of India and neighboring and vulnerable countries.

The main objective is to control the rise in domestic prices. Global wheat prices have risen more than 40% since the beginning of the year.

Before the war, Ukraine and Russia accounted for a third of world wheat and barley exports. Since the Russian invasion on February 24, Ukraine’s ports have been closed and civilian infrastructure and granaries destroyed.

Meanwhile, India’s wheat crop suffered a record heat wave that brought production to a standstill.

Although it is the second largest producer of wheat in the world, India consumes most of the wheat it produces. It had set a target of exporting 10 million tons of grain in 2022-23, looking to capitalize on global disruptions in wheat supplies from the war and find new wheat markets in Europe, Africa and Asia.

Much of that was going to other developing countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

Aside from weather problems damaging crops, India’s huge stocks of wheat – a buffer against famine – have been strained by the distribution of free grain during the pandemic to some 800 million people.

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To balance supply and demand, the government needs about 25 million tons (27.5 million US tons) of wheat each year for a comprehensive food welfare program that typically feeds more than 80 million people.

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