India doesn’t have a shortage of wheat, but the government has banned its export to stop ‘rampant’ sales of the grain abroad. This is what Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said. After going to an event here on Thursday, Tomar told reporters that it was the government’s job to keep the market in balance.
‘For us, what’s best for the country comes first. And because of this, the country never ran out of wheat. It is up to the government to keep the market in balance. So, we put a stop to the export of the food grain by putting a ban on it. We have to meet the needs of the country,’ the minister said.
Also Read | After the prohibition on wheat exports, the harvest is bitter for Indian farmers.
India, which is the second-largest producer of wheat in the world, banned wheat exports on May 14. This was done to keep domestic prices from going up too much because of worries that a heatwave could hurt production.
In 2021-22, India’s wheat exports reached a record high of 7 million tonnes, worth $2.05 billion. This was due to a rise in demand for Indian wheat from other countries. About half of the wheat that was sent abroad went to Bangladesh.
Countries around us
Tomar said that India also needs to take care of the needs of its neighbors when it comes to food grains. Also Read | Farmers, FPOs can lock selling price at sowing time to manage price risk: Ashok Dalwai.
‘The countries around us depend on us. Many countries around the world are looking to India for food grains. We have a responsibility to the countries next to us’ he said.
‘To take care of all of these responsibilities, we made the decision (to stop exports) by checking our accounts,’ the minister said in response to a question about Congress’s claim that the wheat exports were stopped without any planning.
Add Comment