India, the second-largest producer of wheat, has banned exports of the commodity due to a risk to its food security.
A Friday notice in the government gazette signed by Santosh Kumar Sarangi, the Director General of Foreign Trade, said that a sudden spike in the global wheat prices was putting India, neighboring and other vulnerable countries at risk.
The export of wheat will be allowed in case of shipments where an Irrevocable Letter of Credit ICLC has been issued on or before the date of the notice and on the basis of permission granted by the Government of India to other countries to meet their food security needs and based on the request of their governments. The export policy of wheat against the above HS codes is Prohibited with immediate effect, except for shipments that meet the conditions listed in paragraph 2 above, which will be allowed as per the procedure outlined in Para 1.05 b of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015 -- 2020, according to the director.
India consumes most of the wheat it produces, despite the fact that it is the world's second-largest producer of wheat.
The nation had set a goal of exporting 10 million tons from 2022 to 2023, most of which would have gone to other developing countries like Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.
India's wheat harvest has suffered from record-breaking heat and its own stocks have been strained by the distribution of free grain during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Other countries are grappling with poor harvests that hinder their ability to help offset shortfalls due to Russia's war in Ukraine.
Ukraine and Russia accounted for a third of global wheat and barley exports before the invasion.
Since the beginning of the year, global wheat prices have increased by more than 40%.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization FAO cut its projection of world wheat production in 2022 to 782 million tons, from 784 million last month.