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The Centre will send trade delegations to Morocco, Tunisia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Algeria and Lebanon to explore possibilities of exporting wheat from the country, according to the Commerce & Industry Ministry.
With the Ukrainian crisis adding to the uncertainty around global food supplies, India has set a target of exporting a record 10 million tonne of wheat in 2022-23, up from 7 million tonne exported in 2021-22 valued at $2.05 billion.
“The Department of Commerce has also planned to organise a series of sensitisation meetings on exports in major wheat growing States such as Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan,” the release issued on Thursday pointed out.
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA) organised one such interactive meeting with various stakeholders including farmers, traders and exporters in Karnal, Haryana for promotion of wheat export and ensuring shipment of quality produce. “There is a rise in the demand for Indian wheat in the global market and farmers, traders and exporters have been advised to follow all the quality norms of importing countries so that India emerges as a reliable supplier of wheat globally,” the release added.
Task force for wheat
The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has already set up a task force for wheat exports with representatives from various ministries, including shipping and railways, and exporters under the aegis of APEDA.
According to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, of the total shipment of wheat exported last year, around 50 per cent was exported to Bangladesh.
Recently, Egypt, which is one of the world’s biggest importers of wheat, agreed to source wheat from India. Egyptian authorities have put India as one of the origins for this strategic commodity, the release stated.
Egypt, which imported 6.1 million tonnes of wheat in 2021, did not include India in the list of accredited countries for wheat supply last year. More than 80 per cent of Egypt’s wheat imports, estimated to be close to $ 2 billion in 2021, were from Russia and Ukraine. “APEDA has already communicated to exporters to register with Egypt’s public procurement agency – General Authority of Supplies and Commodities, which manages wheat and sugar imports to the north African country,” the release said.
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