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Rabat – India’s commerce ministry has announced a ban on wheat exports as part of the country’s efforts to curb soaring food commodities domestically.
India’s Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said today that the measure is to address the 19% hike in prices the local market witnessed in the course of last year.
The ban on exports is expected to ease the pressure on domestic prices, Sudhanshu said, adding that restricted global supply coupled with a slight decrease in India’s agriculture output have all contributed to the spike in India’s wheat prices.
The government cited food security concerns when announcing the new protectionism measure.
“Global demand was rising and different countries were putting restrictions. Sentiments were driving prices. We are quite confident, now also the sentiments will push down the prices,” India’s food secretary said in a press release.
Global wheat prices average $420-480 per tonne.
The decision comes weeks after India announced it will step in to fill the wheat supply vacuum left by the Ukraine crisis.
India’s Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA) announced plans on April 16 to send trade delegations to North African countries to explore the possibility of boosting Indian wheat exports, India’s news agency reported.
Earlier this year, India had set a record target for wheat exports, announcing it would be exporting up to 10 million tons of wheat this year, up from 7 tons last year and 2 tons a year before.
As Ukraine and Russia are major wheat exporters, the war in Ukraine and the ensuing sanctions against Russia have sent wheat prices skyrocketing, raising concerns over food security.
In addition to the threat to food security, the crisis will have a detrimental effect on government spending as emerging markets race for food subsidies.
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