Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India has implemented curbs on wheat exports to ensure food security for its citizens as well as the equitable distribution of the agricultural commodity among countries that were importing it.
Our wheat exports were hardly under 200 -- 300,000 tons until two years ago. We only went to 2 million tons of wheat two years ago, and last year we did 7 million tons of wheat exports. That was the time when our production was high and we had a moderate surplus that we could export. Goyal said that we are expecting a bumper harvest this year and that we are able to continue the trend.
Initial estimates show that the heatwave in large parts of North India had resulted in a decline in production by 5 -- 6 per cent. In April of last year, we exported 240,000 metric tons. We exported more than 1.3 million metric tons in April 2022, that's a 5 -- 6X growth. We felt that going forward, it could have a negative effect on our food inflation. The curbs would be good, considering the food security of India and, at the same time, to ensure the distribution of grain that we are exporting, the minister told Business Today's executive director Rahul Kanwal during an exclusive interaction ahead of the World Economic Forum 2022 in Davos.
Goyal said that the ban on palm oil exports was an international practice, as was Indonesia's blanket ban on palm oil exports in April.
India's strengths are reflected in its strengths.
The Minister said that the country would be able to quickly make up for the lost time because of the Covid 19 pandemic and geopolitical uncertainties on India's plan to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024. We are seeing a lot of investment activity. We have FDI record in India for the seventh year in a row. Despite the war in Ukraine and the world recognises that India is the place to be, India offers a stable future, a large market and talent that gives good outcomes, said Goyal.
Goyal said that while they focused on attracting foreign capital in selected sectors, India offered a whole bouquet, despite the gains made in attracting foreign investments by countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam. The advantage they had had so far was zero duty access for their exports into Europe and UK. For Bangladesh because it is a less developed country and for Vietnam because of the Free Trade Agreement they have with the EU. We in India have had a hard time getting an FTA with these two geographies. We are in a very sweet spot, as both the EU and UK are engaged with us, especially after our success with Australia and the UAE. Goyal is leading the Indian delegation consisting central ministers Mansukh Mandaviya and Hardeep Singh Puri, and chief ministers and senior ministers of six states, including Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana, to WEF 2022 from May 22 -- 26.