Centre to Engage Inspection Bodies to Clear Export of Atta

The Centre is developing a mechanism to do quality certification for wheat flour (atta) exports in order to assist the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Wheat in approving consignments in accordance with the amended export policy. According to a source at the Directorate General of Foreign Trade and the Food Ministry, the testing will be carried out by quality inspection agencies such as the Export Inspection Council (EIC).

"There will have to be a process in place to check the quality of wheat flour." The DGFT and the Food Ministry are working hard to complete this quickly and figure out how to award quality certification. "Export certification bodies, such as the EIC or a similar agency, are likely to be involved," according to the source.

On July 6, the DGFT issued a notification amending the export policy on wheat flour (atta), mandating its export subject to the IMC's wheat recommendation beginning July 12.

"Because the IMC clearance is due on July 12, the quality control system should be in place by then." Unlike when wheat exports were prohibited in May of this year, the government decided to give exporters some lead time this time. "Hopefully, there won't be any complaints about consignments being loaded into ships or registered for exports by Customs getting stuck this time," the source said.

According to the source, the quality assurance process is unlikely to be complicated. "Agencies such as EIC, which already conduct quality testing for foodgrains such as rice, have a sample collection process in place. The chosen agency can then send its lab testing report to the IMC, which will then make an export recommendation.”

According to the DGFT notification, the export of wheat flour remains free because the IMC recommendation is to maintain its quality. This means that, unlike wheat export, which has been prohibited since May 13, wheat flour export will continue subject to IMC approval.

According to industry sources, the new requirement for IMC recommendations for wheat flour exports could also be an indirect way of controlling export quantities, which were not previously required because exported quantities were low.

According to Commerce Ministry data, India exported 95,094 tonnes of wheat flour worth Rs 314 crore in April, while a record 5.66 lakh tonnes worth Rs 1,842 crore was shipped in the entire fiscal year 2021-22 (average of 50,000 tonnes per month). In 2020-21, 2.78 lakh tonnes of wheat flour were shipped out, compared to 1.99 lakh tonnes in 2019-20.

According to industry sources, approximately 82,000 tonnes of atta were exported out of 5.66 lt last year, with the remainder being maida, sooji, and other items. According to an industry expert, there is little demand for atta outside of South Asia, and only the Indian diaspora consumes it, mostly purchasing popular brands already available in the domestic market.

"The fear that wheat will be converted to atta and exported in large quantities is unfounded because its consumption abroad is limited." Rather, the government should have restricted maida where such a possibility exists because it is consumed in the majority of countries," the expert said.

In response to the notification's mention of quality, he stated that there has been no concern about quality and no rejection of any consignment from anywhere so far. Any exportable food item must meet the standards of the importing country, and Indian wheat products do, he says.