Russia and Ukraine contribute 30 percent of global wheat exports. However, the ongoing war between them has set wheat prices soaring. Egypt, which has been importing 80 percent of its wheat from the warring nations, has approved India as a supplier.
A delegation from Egypt visited India’s largest wheat-producing states, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Maharashtra, to assess grain quality, storage facilities, and other pertinent export parameters.
The visiting delegation included Egypt’s general authority for supply commodities, agriculture, and supply Ministry. Egyptian Ambassador to India, Wael Mohamed Awad, accompanied the panel on their field visit, which inspected India’s food safety–phytosanitary measures.
On Friday, Piyush Goyal, Indian Commerce Minister, tweeted, “Indian farmers are feeding the world. Egypt approves India as a wheat supplier. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government steps in as the world look for reliable alternate sources for a steady food supply. Our farmers have ensured our granaries overflow, and we are ready to serve the world.”
India is the second-largest producer of wheat globally, and this is a rare opportunity for the country to reach out to wheat importing nations. In addition to Egypt, India is in talks with several middle east and African countries like Turkey, Iran, Sudan, Nigeria, Bosnia, also China.
According to officials, the country has enough stock of wheat to meet the global shortage of grain. As of April 2022, India has about 189.90 lakh MT of wheat in its central pool of inventory (Data: fci.gov.in).
In FY22, India’s export earnings touched a record high of $418 billion. The current global demand for wheat and other grains will further boost exports and help farmers secure a better price in the local market. Meanwhile, the Indian Railways and Commerce Ministries are trying to accelerate shipments to ports by adding additional rail wagons.
Fauzan Alavi, Director of Allana Group (India’s largest wheat exporter), said, “We are further targeting a $US300-400 million export revenue.” He added that the move would aid small-scale farmers in garnering better prices for their crops and the government in terms of income and reducing forced procurement of certain commodities.