The government has banned exports of wheat flour and related products to keep domestic supplies steady and curb a price rise. Nevertheless, it will allow exports of such products to food-deficit nations, based on requests from their governments.
With this, the export policy for wheat products has been brought on a par with that of wheat. According to a notification dated August 27 by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, exports of wheat flour (atta), maida, semolina (rava/ sirgi), wholemeal atta and resultant atta are now prohibited.
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The move follows an irrational spike in outbound shipments of wheat products in recent months, which has threatened to undermine the government’s ban on wheat exports imposed on May 13. The government subsequently decided to allow flour exports, subject to recommendations by an inter-ministerial panel.
However, since massive exports of wheat products continued, the government has stepped in to prohibit them. On August 25, the Cabinet decided to restrict exports of wheat or meslin flour.
Exports of wheat or meslin flour jumped 215% on year in the June quarter to $128 million. The all-India average retail price of wheat flour (atta) has risen more than 17% from a year ago to Rs 35.2 per kg, according to the consumer affairs ministry data.
Prices of wheat and wheat products started rising earlier this year, after an intense heatwave hurt the yield level of the key rabi crop. Wheat output in the 2021-22 crop year through June is estimated to have dropped 3% from a year before to 106.84 million tonne. However, private trade sources claim the output is below 100 million tonne.
