India to export 10 million tons of Wheat worth $4 billion in 2022-23

Because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India is expecting to export a record 10 million tons (MT) of wheat in FY 2022-23. "We are working with a variety of other ministries, including agriculture, railroads, and shipping, as well as exporters and state governments, to significantly enhance our wheat exports in the current fiscal," said Piyush Goyal, minister of trade and industry, on Sunday.

India sold a record 7 MT of wheat worth $2.05 billion in 2021-22, according to estimates from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGF). In the previous fiscal year, Bangladesh received roughly half of all shipments.

Given that prices are predicted to grow in the following months to roughly $400 to $430 per ton (inclusive of all costs), notably in North Africa and South-East Asia countries, India is likely to export wheat worth around $4 billion in 2022-23. The current ton price ranges from $370 to 380 dollars.

Meanwhile, the commerce ministry has formed a wheat export task group with members from multiple ministries, including commerce, shipping, and railways, as well as exporters.

Officials say that, given the geopolitical scenario, demand from countries such as South-East Asia and North Africa, which formerly sourced wheat from Ukraine and Russia, which together account for roughly 25% of global wheat trade, will be strong in the coming months.

"We will be sending delegations to countries in Southeast Asia and North Africa with members from important ministries to promote our wheat exports," said M Angamuthu, head of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Development Authority (APEDA).

While Madhya Pradesh currently supplies the majority of India's wheat exports due to its proximity to the Kandla and Mundra ports, the commerce ministry is in talks with the shipping ministry to begin wheat exports from the ports of Nhava Sheva (Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra) and Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh).

In the recent decade, India has become the world's top rice exporter, with export revenues reaching a high of $8.7 billion in 2020-21 and crossing $ 9.6 billion in 2021-22. However, until 2020-21, the country was a minor role in the worldwide wheat trade.

The Food Corporation of India's (FCI) existing wheat reserves are about three times the buffer norm, and the ongoing rabi procurement would add to the stockpile.

In an effort to boost wheat exports, Madhya Pradesh recently issued a 3.5 percent rebate on mandi fees and other duties on grain purchases in the state. The state is the country's second-largest wheat producer. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the state chief minister, has called a conference of wheat exporters in Bhopal on Monday.