India bans wheat exports with immediate effect

Union Government has prohibited wheat export with immediate effect. Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued a notification in this regard. It has been stated in the notification that amendment in the export policy of wheat has been done in order to manage the overall food security of the country and to support the needs of the neighbouring countries and other vulnerable countries.It has been further stated that export will also be allowed on the basis of permission granted by the Government to other countries to meet their food security needs and based on the request of their government. Directorate General of Foreign Trade said, there is a sudden spike in the global prices of wheat due to several factors and as a result, food security of India, neighbouring countries and other vulnerable countries is at risk. It said, the government is committed to provide food security. 

The move to ban wheat exports comes after huge crop loss due to a heatwave in March. The government is also under pressure to rein in inflation that surged to 7.79 per cent in April. Earlier this month, a Reuters report quoted a top official of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution as saying that India is not looking to curb wheat exports. After five consecutive years of record harvests, India cut its wheat output forecast to 105 million tonnes from a February estimate of 111.3 tonnes after the heatwave hit crop yields. In a separate notification, the DGFT announced the easing of export conditions for onion seeds. "The export policy of onion seeds has been put under the restricted category, with immediate fact," it said. The export of onion seeds had earlier been prohibited.