Pak Sahafat – India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Pyush Goyal said his country would continue to allow wheat exports to friendly and needy countries, but would not lift the ban on private sector exports.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Goyal concluded his remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos in a Twitter message: India’s wheat exports account for less than 1% of world trade, and our export regulations should not affect world markets.
He further noted: We continue to allow vulnerable countries and neighbors to export (wheat).
Goyal also said in a speech to the World Economic Forum: India does not intend to lift the ban on wheat exports to the private sector, as this will only benefit black market traders and will not help vulnerable countries.
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The “wheat war” and India’s quest to become the world’s first wheat exporter
In the middle of this month, India banned wheat exports without government approval, citing inflation and concerns over its food security. A sudden ban on grain exports has left hundreds of thousands of tonnes of wheat stranded in a large port in western India.
March was the hottest month on record in India, raising concerns about the country’s crop production, which has already been hit by drought.
Although India is only a marginal player in the global wheat market, its decision has pushed up the price of agricultural products on world markets. Earlier, the war in Ukraine, a country that accounted for 12 percent of world wheat exports, had pushed up the price of wheat and other grains.
New Delhi argues that the decision to regulate wheat exports not only helps food security and control inflation, but also prevents hoarding.
Prior to the embargo on wheat exports, India had set its export targets for the current year from seven million tonnes last year to 10 million tonnes.