Wheat will be cheaper in the domestic market in the next one to two weeks, the effect of the ban on exports will be seen: Food Secretary

Union Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey has started retailing of wheat and wheat flour in the last one year. wheat retail pricesPointing to a rise of up to 19 per cent in prices, it said on Saturday that the government’s decision to ban wheat exports is expected to bring down domestic prices in a week or two. He said that in India Wheat , wheatAlong with a slight decline in production, the global supply has also increased due to the increase in its prices. This is the reason why domestic prices of wheat and flour also increased last month. However, he also made it clear that there is a possible fall in the production of wheat in India and government procurement (government procurement) is also not expected to have an impact on the Public Distribution System (PDS) of wheat. He said that the PDS will continue to run smoothly.

ban on export of wheat

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce, on Friday night banned the export of wheat with immediate effect. However, it has allowed export of wheat with valid LOC issued on or before the date of notification. The country has so far contracted for the export of 45 lakh tonnes of wheat in the current financial year. According to official figures, out of this 14.6 lakh tonnes of wheat was exported in April. The Food Secretary told a press conference held after the announcement of the ban on wheat exports that global demand was increasing and various countries were imposing restrictions, perceptions were determining the prices. We are confident that now these sentiments will also work to bring down the prices. He said that these days, along with the global prices, inflation is also imported in many areas. The same was happening in the case of wheat. Wheat prices are rising internationally. He said that wheat of other countries was being sold at a high price of $ 420-480 per tonne. He said that in such a situation, India had to ban the export of wheat to control rising domestic prices and protect the interests of consumers. This decision will definitely help in bringing down the prices. However, he said that the quantum of fall in prices cannot be predicted. But domestic prices will undoubtedly come down in a week or two, he said.

Wheat exports from India increased

Due to strong global demand, India’s wheat exports increased to 7 million tonnes or US$ 2.05 billion in 2021-22. According to DGFT data, out of the total wheat exports in the last financial year, around 50 per cent of the consignments were sent to Bangladesh. The country exported around 9,63,000 tonnes of wheat this year as against 1,30,000 tonnes in the same period last year. India was expected to export 10 million tonnes of wheat in 2022-23. The commerce ministry had recently said that India would send business delegations to nine countries—Morocco, Tunisia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Algeria and Lebanon—to explore possibilities of boosting wheat export consignments. India’s wheat procurement has also declined by 44 per cent to 1.62 lakh tonnes in the current Rabi marketing season till May 1 due to heavy lifting by private traders and less arrivals in Punjab-Haryana. The government had procured 2.88 lakh tonnes of wheat in the year-ago period. Rabi marketing season runs from April to March. Private companies have bought wheat at a price higher than the Minimum Support Price (MSP) amid rising demand for food grains for export. The Center has set a target to procure a record 4.44 lakh tonnes of wheat in the marketing year 2022-23, as against 4.33 lakh tonnes in the previous marketing year.