By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, MAY 13, 2022: THE Centre will send trade delegations to Morocco, Tunisia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Algeria and Lebanon for exploring possibilities of boosting wheat exports from India. India has set a target of a record 10 million tonnes of wheat in the 2022-23 amid rising global demand for the grain globally. The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has already set up a task force on wheat exports with representatives from various ministries, including commerce, shipping and railways, and exporters under the aegis of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

The Department of Commerce has also planned to organise a series of such sensitization meetings on exports in major wheat growing states such as Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The 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. The stakeholders meet was organised in collaboration with ICAR-Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Karnal, where experts discussed opportunities and challenges in the sphere of wheat export.

There is a rise in the demand for Indian wheat in the global market, 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. "We are extending our support to all the stakeholders in the wheat exports value chain for boosting shipment from the country," M Angamuthu, Chairman, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA), said.   According to estimates by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, India has exported a record 7 million tonne (MT) of wheat in 2021-22 which is valued at USD 2.05 billion. Out of the total shipment around 50% of wheat was exported to Bangladesh in the last fiscal.

Recently, Egypt, which is one of the world's biggest importers of wheat, had agreed to source wheat from India. Egyptian authorities have put India as one of the origins for this strategic commodity. Egypt imported 6.1 MT of wheat in 2021 and India was not part of the list of accredited countries which can export wheat to Egypt. More than 80% of Egypt's wheat imports estimated to be close to USD 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.