After a ban on wheat exports, the central government has now curbed exports of wheat flour and other related products and said their exports will be subject to the recommendation of the inter-ministerial committee (IMC) on export of wheat, according to a notification from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). The arrangement will come into force from July 12.
Until the commencement of this rule (July 12), between July 6 and July 12, shipments where loading of wheat flour on the ship had commenced before July 6 and where wheat flour consignment has been handed over to the Customs before July 6 and is registered in their system, will be allowed.
“The export policy of wheat flour (atta) remains ‘Free’ but exports will be subject to the recommendation of the inter-ministerial committee (IMC) on export of wheat. The Notification will come into effect from July 12, 2022. The provisions…under…the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 regarding transitional arrangement shall not be applicable under this Notification. Necessary modalities with regard to the quality of wheat flour will be notified separately,” the DGFT said on Wednesday.
However, there is no outright ban on the exports of wheat flour and related products like maida, samolina (rava/ sirgi), wholemeal atta and resultant atta.
It added that global supply disruptions in wheat and wheat flour have created many new players and has led to price fluctuations and potential quality-related issues. Therefore, it is imperative to maintain the quality of wheat flour exports from India.
“The notification will come into effect from July 12, 2022. The provisions…the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020 regarding transitional arrangement shall not be applicable under this Notification. During the period from July 6, 2022, till July 12, 2022, the following consignments of wheat flour will be allowed to be exported: i) where loading of wheat flour on the ship has commenced before this Notification; and ii) where wheat flour consignment has been handed over to the Customs before this Notification and is registered in their system,” the DGFT, which is an arm of the commerce ministry that deals with exports- and imports-related matters, added.
India’s wheat flour exports rose sharply in FY22 in tandem with wheat exports. In FY22, India exported a record over 7 million tonnes of wheat, worth around $2.12 billion, which in value terms was 274 per cent more than the same period last year.
In May, the government had banned the export of wheat with immediate effect in order to control food prices in the domestic market. The daily average retail price of wheat had then increased by 19.34 per cent to Rs 29.49 per kg, compared with Rs 24.71 per kg a year ago.
Later, the Center announced a relaxation on its orders restricting wheat exports. It was decided that wherever wheat consignments were handed over to Customs for examination and registered into their systems on or before May 13, such consignments would be allowed for export.
On Tuesday, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), a commerce ministry arm that deals with export- and import-related matters, also asked authorities to issue registration of contracts (RCs) to the wheat exporters who have irrevocable letters of credit ( LoC). The government has also allowed wheat outbound shipments with valid irrevocable LoC.
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