India exporting wheat, rice to needy countries for their food security

India is exporting wheat and rice to food insecure, vulnerable and neighbouring countries on their request to meet their demands, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi has said. In general, there is a ban on the export of wheat, broken rice and non-basmati white rice.

Sarangi said India has allowed exports of 3 lakh tonnes of wheat to Nepal on July 21 and 14,184 tonnes to Bhutan. Similarly, the government has permitted the export of broken rice to Senegal (5 lakh tonnes), Gambia (5 lakh tonnes), Indonesia (2 lakh tonnes), Mali (1 lakh tonnes), and Bhutan (48,804 tonnes).

"The Government of India has the commitment that in case of food insecure, vulnerable countries and neighbouring countries' request, it will provide with the required quantity of rice or wheat," he said. The government also allowed exports of non-basmati rice to Bhutan (79,000 tonnes), Mauritius (14,000 tonnes) and Singapore (50,000 tonnes) through the National Cooperative Exports Ltd (NCEL).

On September 9 last year, the government banned the export of broken rice to check rising retail prices and boost domestic supply. On July 20, India banned exports of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply and keep retail prices under check during the upcoming festive season. The wheat export was banned in May 2022.