Ukraine war: India prohibits wheat exports, supplies already constrained by Russia-Ukraine conflict to be affected
- The world’s second-largest wheat producer made the decision to try calm local prices, following damaged yields due to record-setting heatwaves
- Global buyers were banking on India for wheat supplies after exports from the Black Sea region plunged since Russia invaded Ukraine
India has prohibited wheat exports with immediate effect, the government said in a notification late on Friday, saying that the nation’s food security is under threat.
The world was counting on India, the second-largest wheat producer to alleviate supply constraints sparked by the war in Ukraine.
Exports will still be allowed to countries that require wheat for food security needs and based on the requests of their governments, India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification dated May 13. All other new shipments will be banned with immediate effect.
The decision to halt wheat exports highlights India’s concerns about high inflation, adding to a spate of food protectionism since the war started. Governments around the world are seeking to ensure local food supplies with agriculture prices surging. Indonesia has halted palm oil exports, while Serbia and Kazakhstan imposed quotas on grain shipments.
Curbing exports would be a hit to India’s ambition to cash in on the rally in global wheat prices after the war upended trade flows out of the critical Black Sea breadbasket region. Importing nations had looked to India for supplies, with top buyer Egypt recently approving the South Asian nation as an origin for wheat imports.
Bloomberg News reported earlier this month that a record-shattering heat wave has damaged wheat yields across the South Asian nation, prompting the government to consider export restrictions. The food ministry had said it didn’t see a need to control exports, even as the government cut estimates for India’s wheat production.
Shipments with irrevocable letters of credit that have already been issued will still be allowed, according to the latest notification. Traders have already contracted to export 4 million tons of wheat so far in 2022-23, the food ministry said on May 4. After Egypt, Turkey has also given approval to import wheat from India, it said.
