The Directorate General of Foreign Trade on May 13 may allow exports of about 2 million tonnes of wheat in total, based on letters of credit issued before the export ban, which is less than half of the amount for which export applications are scrutinized. has been , a source tracking the matter said.
“Out of the applications for export of wheat worth more than 5 million tonnes made by traders, around 1.75 million tonnes have been approved so far. The rejection has been around 2.5 million tonnes,” the source said.
He said the scrutiny process of applications for exports is almost over and the government expects the total export allowed to be around 2 million tonnes, while around 3 million applications will be rejected.
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The government had banned wheat exports on May 13 on concerns that continued exports could lead to a shortage in the domestic market as an unprecedented heat wave hit production in the country in March. Wheat prices have also jumped in the domestic market.
Subsequently, it was decided to relax the restriction to allow consignments for which letters of credit were issued before May 13. However, there was a flood of requests and online applications from traders seeking permission to export more than 5 million tonnes of wheat, leading the government to believe that not all such applications may be valid and need to be scrutinised.
“The scrutiny process is time consuming as it is a multi-layered one in which DGFT directs all its Regional Officers (RAs) to physically verify all documents of applicants for wheat exports before issuing Certificate of Registration (RC). Is. It also asked the RA to cross check all the LCs with the advising banks,” the source said.
Another layer has been added to the scrutiny process by DGFT with RAs who cross check LCs with advising banks.
Even in cases where LCs have been issued by the issuing bank before May 13, but due to holidays or non-working days in the receiving countries, the transmission has not taken place at that time (the latter is required to be registered in the SWIFT system). due date), the source said export requests are being rejected.
“Wherever there is any discrepancy, the RA has been directed to reject the applications,” the official said.
While wheat exports are currently banned, India has said that it is ready to send supplies on a G2G (government to government) basis to the requesting countries.
Last week, the DGFT also amended the export policy for wheat flour, seeking the recommendation of an inter-ministerial panel on wheat to ensure the quality of export consignments. The revised policy will come into effect from July 12.
Published on
10 July 2022