Centre prohibits all wheat exports to manage overall food security 

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?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Narendra Modi government has prohibited all wheat exports just a day after data revealed annual consumer price inflation touched a near eight-year high of 7.79 percent in April, with retail food inflation even higher at 8.38 percent.

With effect from May 13, all wheat exports, including high-protein durum and typical soft bread kinds, have been switched from "free" to "prohibited."

There will be two types of shipping authorised from now on. The first is "on the basis of permission granted by the Indian government to other countries to meet their food security needs and on their governments' request." The second category is exports under transitional conditions, in which irrevocable letters of credit were provided "on or before the date of this announcement, subject to the submission of documented evidence as stipulated," according to a late Friday department of commerce notification.

The export ban comes as government procurement of wheat has dropped to a 15-year low, with only 18 million tonnes (mt) purchased so far this marketing season, compared to a record 43.3 mt in 2021-22. While the wheat marketing season formally runs from April to March, the majority of government purchase at the MSP occurs from April to mid-May.

In the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2022, India's wheat exports reached an all-time high of 7.5 million tonnes. The Agriculture Ministry predicted the country's wheat crop for 2021-22 (marketed in 2022-23) at a record 111.3 mt in mid-February. According to this, India's wheat shipments are projected to range between 10 and 15 million tonnes this fiscal. Indian farmers "have ensured our granaries overflow & we are ready to serve the globe," Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted on April 15.