The export of wheat flour and other associated goods including maida, rava (samolina), wholemeal atta, and resulting atta has been limited by the government. Before beginning any outbound shipment, all exporters must first obtain approval from an interministerial committee on the export of wheat. Wheat exports were prohibited by the Center in May.
The limitations will go into effect on July 12th, according to a statement from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade that was released on July 6.
Shipping will be permitted up until July 12 if loading began before July 6 or if the consignments were delivered to customs prior to the notification being sent.
Contrary to wheat, the export of wheat flour and related goods has not been explicitly prohibited.
Despite some stabilization in the price of wheat flour since May 13, when wheat export was prohibited, the restrictions have been applied.
According to certain trade sources, exports have been restricted to prevent fly-by-night companies and others looking to make quick cash from shipping an exceptionally large amount of wheat flour to get over the prohibition on exporting wheat.
“Exports of wheat flour will now be regulated. The export of flour was at its pinnacle earlier.
But even before the prohibition, atta (wheat flour) prices started to decline; they may now continue to do so. However, it will only last a short while since the upcoming festival season and the central government’s decision to stop selling wheat on the open market will bolster prices. Wheat and atta prices continue to be supported by supply and demand fundamentals, according to Rahul Chauhan, a commodity analyst at iGrain India, who spoke to Business Standard.
The food ministry reports that India exported 95,167 tonnes of wheat flour (atta) in April 2022 as opposed to 26,000 tonnes in April 2021, an almost 267 percent increase.
While this is going on, exporters of wheat goods in 5- and 10-kilogram consumer packs have contacted the commerce ministry to request permission to export unrestrictedly.
The small exporters claimed that any restrictions on the export of such commodities would be a major catastrophe because they had built their businesses in close contact with foreign clients. They claimed that each year, small pack sizes of wheat flour and related items totaling about 75000 tonnes are exported.
Overall, India exported a record amount of wheat in FY22, totaling over 7 million tonnes worth over $2.12 billion, or 274% more than during the same time prior year.
However, according to government records, until the export prohibition, contracts for about 4.5 million tonnes of wheat had been made for that fiscal year.
In April 2022, 1.47 million tonnes of this were transported, compared to 0.24 million tonnes in April 2021. Experts estimate that India could have exported 8–10 million tonnes of wheat if the exports weren’t prohibited.