More than a dozen countries have requested Indian wheat shipments as a global food crisis triggered by the Ukraine war crimped availability, pushing up prices.
India has exported 1.8 million tonnes of wheat on the request of foreign governments since putting a ban on overseas sales of the staple on May 13, a senior government official said.
More than a dozen countries have requested Indian wheat shipments as a global food crisis triggered by the Ukraine war crimped availability, pushing up prices.
“Outbound shipments have gone to Bangladesh, Oman, the UAE and Afghanistan among others with an undertaking by their governments that Indian wheat should be used for their own consumption and not trade or exports,” said Sudhanshu Pandey, Union food secretary.
Last month, food minister Piyush Goyal said though India was not a major exporter of wheat, it would supply to “friendly countries facing a food crisis”.
India banned the private export of wheat on May 13 after a scorching early summer impacted yields and cut output estimates by nearly 5%. The ban exempted wheat exports cleared for countries making a formal request for shipments to overcome acute shortages.
The G7 grouping of countries had criticised India for banning overseas sales of wheat saying it would “exacerbate” a global crisis, but the Union government said it was prompted to bar export to mitigate likely risks to the country’s food security. “The nation’s interest comes first and we have only regulated exports,” the food secretary said at the time.
-Hindustan Times