India will send trade delegations abroad to explore possibilities of wheat export. The countries to be covered by these delegations include Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria in North Africa, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Turkey and Lebanon.
A press release announced that till recently Bangladesh had received half of total wheat exports of India and indicated that the disruption in world food market because of the Ukraine war is prompting India to reach out to new prospective importing nations.
"We are extending our support to all the stakeholders in the wheat exports value chain for boosting shipment from the country," said M. Angamuthu, Chairman, Agriculture and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA).
The Commerce and Industry officials said farmers traders and exporters have been advised to follow all the "quality norms" of importing countries so that India can maintain its global reputation as a reliable supplier of wheat.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has set up a task force on what exports including representatives from various ministries, including commerce, shipping and railways and exporters under the overall guidance of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). The Department of Commerce has planned to organise orientation meetings on exports in major wheat growing states like Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
A similar meeting was held in Karnal, Haryana where opportunities and challenges in wheat exports was presented. India has exported a total of 7 million tonne (MT) of wheat in 2021-'22 which is valued at $2.05 billion. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, half of the total shipment of wheat was exported to Bangladesh in the last fiscal. The APEDA has urged exporters to register with Egypt's public procurement agency – General Authority of Supplies and Commodities – to facilitate export of wheat from India.
