Wheat export ban: India’s extreme heat wave having ripple effects on world’s food supply
NEW DELHI: In a surprise move, the government banned export of wheat, thereby pushing up prices to new record highs.
Prompted by a severe heatwave in most parts of the country that has cut harvest prospects, the announcement marks a policy U-turn by the government.
The ban is also being seen as a measure to control rising domestic prices. Retail inflation hit an eight-year high of 7.79 per cent in April, driven by rising food and fuel prices.
A few days back, the Centre had said that it was still targetting record exports of 10 million tonnes that would help compensate for Ukraine’s reduced supply. Recently, a commerce ministry statement had stated that India would send trade delegations to nine countries – Morocco, Tunisia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Algeria and Lebanon – to explore possibilities of boosting wheat shipments.
European buyers not keen to pick up Darjeeling tea
Darjeeling’s tea industry is feeling the heat of the Russia-Ukraine war, as European buyers are not keen to lift the commodity due to depreciation of the euro that has made imports more expensive for them.
Prices of Darjeeling tea fell to half at the auctions last week compared with the previous week as a result of weak demand from Europe, raising concerns in the industry.
“The Russia-Ukraine war has created an air of uncertainty in the entire Europe. Europeans are feeling the pinch of the rising inflationary pressure,” Binod Mohan, a Darjeeling planter and former chairman of the Darjeeling Tea Association, told ET. “Even if they are buying tea, they are not ready to pay more. The price is at last year’s level even though our cost of production has gone up due to a hike in the prices of coal, fertilisers and other raw materials.”
Wheat importers in Asia scramble for supplies after Indian export ban
Wheat importers in Asia were scrambling to find new sources of supply on Monday after India banned exports of the grain at the weekend in a bid to keep a lid on soaring domestic prices, trade sources told Reuters.
Importers, especially those in Asia, were banking on wheat from India, the world’s second-biggest producer, after exports from the Black Sea region plunged following Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine jointly account for about 30% of global wheat exports. Ukraine’s exports are severely hampered because the war has forced it to close its ports, while Russia’s exports have been hit by Western sanctions.
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