Russia-Ukraine war may provide India an opportunity to export more wheat to global markets
According to reports, the Russia-Ukraine issue may provide India with an opportunity to sell more wheat to global markets, and local exporters should take advantage of this opportunity. India’s core pool was 24.2 million tonnes, which was double the buffer and strategic needs, sources added.
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According to the United Nations report, Russia is the world’s largest exporter of wheat, accounting for about a quarter of total worldwide exports together with Ukraine. Some countries are far more reliant than others. This grain movement accounts for more than 70% of Egypt’s and Turkey’s total wheat imports.
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The FAO’s latest prediction for global grain output in 2021 was raised by 2.1 million tonnes in February, to 2793 million tonnes, a 0.8% increase year on year. The majority of this month’s shift is due to higher-than-previously predicted wheat outputs in Argentina and Australia, as well as slightly higher production forecasts in the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
This will put further burden on Turkey, which is already in the grip of an economic crisis and dealing with near-50 percent inflation, as well as increasing food, fuel, and energy prices.
Ukraine the Europe’s ‘breadbasket’
Ukraine, long considered as Europe’s ‘breadbasket,’ actually sells more than 40% of its wheat and grain to the Middle East or Africa, where there are fears that additional food shortages and price rises would exacerbate civil instability.
Lebanon, for example, is another country that is suffering from one of the worst economic crises in a century, imports more than half of its wheat from Ukraine, which is also the world’s top supplier of seed oils such as sunflower and rapeseed.
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‘The Ukraine issue may create a chance for India to export more wheat, provided we ship out more, since our central pool stood at 24.2 million tonnes, twice the buffer and strategic needs,’ the sources noted.
‘However, the current scenario will not have a negative influence on India’s trade position because this commodity accounts for barely 10% of India’s overall imports of this item from across the world,’ one of the sources said.
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