Govt announces relaxation in wheat export notification; allows wheat consignment already registered with Customs prior to May 13 order

The government has announced some relaxation to its order prohibiting wheat export. The Ministry of Commerce says that wherever wheat consignments have been handed over to the Customs for examination and have been registered into their systems on or prior to May 13, such consignments would be allowed to be exported. Earlier, on May 13, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Department of Commerce, had issued an order to restrict wheat exports with immediate effect.

A wheat consignment headed for Egypt, which was already under loading at the Kandla port, has also been allowed. This followed a request by the Egyptian government to permit the wheat cargo being loaded at the Kandla port. M/s Mera International India Pvt. Ltd, the company engaged in export of the wheat to Egypt, had also given a representation for the completion of loading of 61,500 metric tonnes (MT) of wheat, of which 44,340 MT of wheat had already been loaded and only 17,160 MT was left to be loaded. The government decided to permit the full consignment of 61,500 MT and allowed it to sail from Kandla to Egypt.

The government had earlier restricted wheat exports to manage the overall food security situation in India and to support the needs of neighbouring and vulnerable countries that are adversely affected by the sudden changes in the global market for wheat and are unable to access adequate wheat supplies. According to this order, this restriction would not apply in cases where prior commitments have been made by private trade through a Letter of Credit (LoC) as well as in situations where permission is granted by the government to other countries to meet their food security needs and on the requests of their governments.

The order served three main purposes: it ensures India’s food security and checks inflation; it helps other countries facing food deficits; and it maintains India’s reliability as a supplier. The order also aimed to provide a clear direction to the wheat market to prevent the hoarding of wheat supplies.