The government’s move to restrict wheat exports last month has been primarily focussed on meeting domestic demand while protecting the farmers’ income, said M Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA here today.

 

Shri Angamuthu said India has kept its wheat export options open for those developing countries to meet their food security needs after restriction on shipment of wheat was announced last month. Requests from several countries for importing wheat from India are being processed at the government level.

 

This year, wheat farmers have been immensely benefited in terms of procurement by the government’s agencies at Minimum Support Price (MSP) while a significant chunk of commodity has been sold to private trade at much above MSP.

 

The decision to ban wheat export was taken to ensure the availability of wheat for the domestic supply chain. Sudden spurt in exports in April created concern over domestic price stability and supply that prompted the government to take the ‘regulatory’ measure like restricting wheat export.

 

The global wheat market is currently volatile at present and prices remain elevated, owing to the shortage caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

 

Keeping the interest of farmers as the top priority, the government allowed them to sell their wheat at higher prices at above MSP to private traders across several mandis besides procuring wheat at MSP across all the key grain growing states including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

 

Higher remuneration to farmers did not result in higher wheat prices for consumers due to administrative measures like wheat export regulations and more availability of wheat for domestic supply chain, said Shri Angamuthu.

 

The Centre has been quite prudent in balancing the interest of the farmers and consumers in one go. The objective of Government of India's policy is that farmers could reap higher remuneration for their produce and the decision of the Centre helped a majority of farmers.

 

It has been reported that during the current Rabi marketing season (2022-23), the farmers sold their produce at an average rate of Rs 2150 per quintal against the MSP of Rs 2015.

 

While putting restrictions on wheat exports on May 13, the Commerce Ministry had clearly stated that the export of wheat would be open under the government-to-government contract and to any other vulnerable country facing a food crisis.

 

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal recently said that India traditionally has not been an exporter of grain. 'Our farmers toiled and ushered in the green revolution and India's production of wheat has been primarily for the consumption of its own population,' said Shri Goyal at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

 

Even though India is the world’s second-biggest wheat producer, India has been relatively a marginal player in global wheat trade while the country has a share of more than 45% in the global trade of rice. By restricting wheat exports, the government chose to protect food security considering inflation concerns.

 

According to estimates by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, India has exported a record 7 million tonne (MT) of wheat in 2021-22 which is valued at $ 2.05 billion. Out of the total shipment around 50% of wheat was exported to Bangladesh in the last fiscal.

 

India had been a relatively marginal player in global wheat trade until 2020-21. India could export only about 0.2 MT and 2 MT of wheat in 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively.

 

The Government had regulated wheat export from May 13, 2022 which changed the market dynamics, preventing speculative wheat trading and cooled down the inflationary trend of the price of wheat and products made out of it in the domestic market.

 

To ensure that farmers with surplus wheat are not adversely affected on account of exports regulation, the government extended the procurement season. This extension facilitated those farmers, who had not participated in public procurement earlier but were keeping the wheat stocks with them, to come to purchase centres for selling wheat to Food Corporation of India and State procuring agencies.

 

In order to mitigate sufferings of farmers of Punjab and Haryana due to a fall in yield of wheat crop on account of early onset of summer and untimely heat wave and to boost procurement for the central pool, GOI relaxed permissible limit of shrivelled grains from 6% to 18% for Punjab and Haryana.

 

In a bid to give a boost to the export of Indian wine, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which works under the aegis of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, facilitated participation of ten exporters in London Wine Fair, 2022.

 

The London Wine Fair organised during June 7 - 9, which is regarded as one of the world’s most important wine trade events.

 

Indian exporters who participated in the London Wine Fair are Resvera wines, Sula vineyards, Good drop wine cellars, Hill Zill wines, KLC wines, Soma vine village, Grover Zampa vineyard, Plateaux Vintners, ASAV vineyards and Fratelli vineyards.

 

Given that India is the third-largest market for alcoholic beverages in the world, there are 12 joint venture companies having a licensed capacity of 33,919 kilo-litres per annum for the production of grain-based alcoholic beverages. Around 56 units are manufacturing beer under license from the government of India.

 

India has exported 2.47 lakh metric tonne of alcoholic products to the world for the worth of USD 322.12 million during 2020-21. The major export destinations of Indian alcoholic products in 2020-21 were United Arab Emirates, Ghana, Singapore, Congo, and Cameroon, etc.

 

Maharashtra has become an important state for wine manufacturing as there are more than 35 wineries in the state. Around 1,500 acres are used for grapes cultivation for wine production in Maharashtra. To promote wine manufacturing, the state government has declared the wine-making business a small-scale industry and has also offered excise concessions.

 

The demand of India’s alcoholic beverages products like beer made from malt, wine, white wine, brandy, whiskies, rum, gin, etc. has increased manifold in the global market.

 

APEDA has conducted several workshops and wine tasting events at various international trade fairs for creating awareness about the potential of Indian wines.

 

Indian Wine industry has grown at compound annual growth rate of 14 per cent during 2010 to 2017 making it the fastest growing industry under alcoholic beverage in the country.

Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momen will visit Delhi this week for a bilateral Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) meeting that would help prepare for a trip by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the coming months.

 

The visit is also significant since Bangladesh is among the Muslim majority countries that neither issued a statement nor summoned the Indian envoy over the remarks by the BJP spokespersons against the Prophet.

 

The JCC is expected to be held on or around June 18, according to people aware of the matter. The meeting, to be held after two years, will be co-chaired by the foreign ministers and will focus on issues including connectivity, river water sharing, investments and security partnership.

 

Last month, when Momen met his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in Guwahati, he sought suggestions to import crude oil from Russia by managing sanctions as Bangladesh is also keen to ensure energy security.

 

The last JCC meeting was held virtually in September 2020. The two countries have also launched several connectivity initiatives, including the revival of rail links that were halted after the 1965 India-Pakistan war and river routes that provide access to Bangladeshi ports for north-eastern states. Bangladesh is emerging as a connectivity link between Northeast India and Southeast Asia after connectivity through Myanmar came to standstill following the 2021 coup.

 

Besides trade and connectivity, the other issues that are expected to figure in the JCC meeting are security matters, development cooperation, and consular and cultural issues. The two sides are also expected to discuss ways to increase train services and flights to facilitate the large number of Bangladeshi travellers who come to India for tourism and medical treatment.

 

Jaishankar was in Dhaka in April and last year both the President and PM visited Dhaka despite the Covid-19 crisis to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations with Bangladesh, while also commemorating the birth centenary of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

 

Dr. Ashish Bhutani, State Project Director of Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART) said that Government of Assam is committed to promote an enabling agriculture enterprise ecosystem in the state.

 

Assam Agribusiness Growth Lab, an APART led acceleration program in partnership with CIIE.CO, IIM Ahmedabad’s incubator, completing its inaugural cohort, successfully staged 'Pitching & Demo Day' on Friday.

 

The Demo Day was a coming together of stakeholders, government agencies, financial bodies, investors, buyers with the AAGL entrepreneurs in focus. Industry stalwarts present were from DIC, NEDFi, NRL, NABARD, HDFC bank NSE -2.12 %, North East Small Finance Bank, CII, FINER, SELCO Foundation, Department of Fisheries, Department of Agriculture, ARIAS Society, World Veg, World Fish, IRRI etc.

 

CIIE.CO in partnership with ICCSPL is co-implementing this acceleration programme in Assam that was officially launched on 30th June 2021.

 

Dr. Bhutani said, 'Government of Assam is committed to promote an enabling agriculture enterprise ecosystem in the state. Towards this, APART has initiated the Assam Agribusiness Growth Lab programme to foster and accelerate the growth of the agro-processing sector. APART encourages entrepreneurs to spearhead the development of the State. We welcome CIIE.CO'S effort in implementing a much-needed program for achieving results.'

 

Assam Agribusiness Growth Lab (AAGL) organized the Demo Day primarily to interpret its flagship journey of one year of the Cohort acceleration process. After a series of business and technical interventions and 2 Boot Camps, the cohort of 25 agri-enterprises will now be engaging with investors, buyers and market platforms leading to access to finance and markets.

 

The Demo Day saw 10 enterprises pitching their businesses before a group of reputed investors representing agencies as diverse as Menterra, Caspian, NEDFi, NRL, HDFC Bank, AGVB etc. showing potential for immense investment opportunities in the Agri and allied sector in Assam.

 

Chintan Bakshi, partner CIIE.CO and CEO Startupoasis stated, 'The AAGL is a path-breaking programme not only for Assam but it is also a potential trend-setter for supporting agri-based businesses and MSMEs across India. CIIEI has used its deep expertise in startup incubation and acceleration to provide deep mentoring, business advisory, fundraising and market access support to agribusinesses from Assam. '

 

Freshdo App, an AAGL incubatee, which is an online essentials delivery platform for farm fresh vegetables, fruits and meat was launched during the event.

India on Sunday called upon the G-33 group of developing countries to work collectively and reach out to other like-minded nations to secure their support in getting a fair, balanced and development-centric outcome at the WTO, which must include a permanent solution for the public stockholding and special safeguard mechanism.

 

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the group has long been calling for an accessible and effective special safeguard mechanism (SSM) to address the destabilising and crippling effects of import surges and downward price movement largely due to huge subsidies by the developed members.

 

'Let me stress that all of us must work collectively to retain the cohesion of this coalition and strengthen it further by reaching out to other like-minded countries, (and) secure their support for a fair, balanced and development-centric outcome, which must include the permanent solution to public stockholding and the SSM,' he said.

 

The minister was speaking at the G-33 Ministerial Meeting on the sidelines of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference here.

 

India is pitching for SSM, which aims at protecting poor and marginal farmers from any surge in imports or a steep decline in prices.

 

He also said that it would have been better if the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was present at this meeting to hear the concerns of the developing world.

 

'I feel it is unfortunate that in her brief comments, she referred to a decision that has been made not once, not twice but thrice, as a mere iteration and I would urge the Chair to convey if it is agreed by all my friends here, that it was not a declaration but a decision that was made in 2013, again in 2015 and then again in 2018 that we are sitting down here to discuss,' Goyal added.

 

The G33 group includes 47 developing and least developed countries.

 

The minister said that the Agreement on Agriculture of the WTO -- which is already riddled with deep imbalances -- favour the developed countries, which have created the rules against many developing countries and that is quite evident from what is happening in different parts of the world today.

 

'It is important that as the first step of agricultural reform, the historical asymmetries and imbalances must be corrected in order to ensure a rule-based fair and equitable order.

 

'We must level the playing field and give our farmers a chance to provide security to our people. We must continue to preserve the existing special and differential treatment for the developing countries, which will help our struggling farmers, particularly those who are keeping out the subsistence living,' the minister noted.

 

Later briefing the media, he said India is here to strongly protect the interests of farmers, poor people and fishermen.

 

'The public stock holding should be allowed permanently in the WTO and it should be included in the WTO rules,' Goyal added.

 

The minister said he also discussed issues related to agriculture, fisheries and temporary TRIPS (Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights) waiver to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic during his bilateral meetings with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, South Africa Trade Minister Ebrahim Patel and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai here.

 

When asked about the TRIPS waiver, he said that it was 'very unfortunate' that few developed member countries of the WTO are protecting the interest of some big pharma companies and hurting the interest of poor people.

 

'In a situation when the COVID pandemic was impacting people across the globe, the stand of certain nations was shameful. It feels sad that in such a situation the developed world did not help developing and less developed countries,' Goyal added.

With the acceptance of initial application for issuing Geographical Indication (GI) tag to Nalanda’s ‘bawan buti’ sari tradition and Gaya’s ‘Pattharkatti stone craft’, the artisans and craftsmen of the areas have got the much- needed boost.

 

Bawan buti sari of Nalanda district is quite old and unique. Women of over 100 families from two villages -- Nepura under Silao block and Basawan Bigha under Biharsharif block -- in Nalanda have been attached to the age-old craft of carving 52 small flowers on silk and cotton saris.

 

While the woman workers of Nepura have the expertise of making embroidery of buti (motifs) on both tussar silk and cotton saris, the women of Basawan Bigha are experts in printing buti on cotton saris by using silk threads. The women of Nepura also produce tussar thread from cocoons brought from Jharkhand, which they use in preparation of tussar saris. The tussar and cotton saris with bawan buti are very popular among women of many Indian cities and are also exported abroad.

 

A bawan buti artist from Nepura, Sushila Devi, said the artisans do not get return for the labour they invest in this art. She said after GI tag, their condition will improve. She said sujni saris produced by the women of her village were accorded award of excellence from Unesco.

 

In Gaya, around 50-60 families are involved in carving statues of Buddha and other Hindu deities at village Pattharkatti under Atri block.

 

Deepak Kumar Gaud, one of the artisans, said, 'More than 150 artists are engaged in preparing idols mainly from white marble and wood at Pattharkatti. They carve the idols according to the demand placed by different shopowners selling idols. Secondly, the artisans prepare the idols keeping in view important festivals.'

 

Citing example, Gaud said, 'During Navaratra, there is demand of the idols of Goddess Durga. Similarly, on Ram Navami, idols of Lord Hanuman are in demand.' He added: 'The market for idols of Buddha is mainly at Bodh Gaya, while other art pieces find market in other cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi and Jaipur.'

 

The artists of Pattharkatti have been demanding international exposure to their work. International exhibition is organized in other countries. From other states, artists and artisans are selected and recommended for final selection by the ministry concerned of union government. Only one artist is selected from each state. The tour to that city where the international exhibition is being organized is sponsored by the ministry concerned. However, this is not in practice in Bihar.

 

Another measure to promote the work of artisans is that the tourists coming to Bodh Gaya also visit Pattharkatti, around 45km from the town. For this, tourist buses should be operated by the state government.

 

The artists fully depend on the earnings from idol-making. But, the Covid -19 pandemic spoiled the market prospects. The artists are now struggling to recover from the crisis.

The International Monetary Fund has said that it is concerned by the use of food and fertilizer export restrictions by some nations which can exacerbate global price increases and market volatility and welcomed India's recent decision to relax its originally announced ban on wheat exports and allow some shipments to proceed.

 

A senior International Monetary Fund official observed that some 30 countries have curtailed exports of commodity goods including food and fuel since the war in Ukraine began.

 

'We are very concerned by the use of food and fertilizer export restrictions, which can exacerbate global price increases and market volatility. So, this goes beyond India,' IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice told reporters at a news conference here on Thursday.

 

'Our monitoring indicates that some 30 countries, in fact, have curtailed exports of commodity goods, including food and fuel, and that since the war in Ukraine began. So, we are very concerned about this. (IMF Managing Director) Kristalina Georgieva has been very vocal on this. (First Deputy Managing Director) Gita Gopinath spoke about it again, yesterday,' he said responding to a question on India.

 

'On India, we welcome India's decision recently to relax its originally announced ban and allow some wheat exports to proceed, including the already contracted shipments and exports to countries with food security needs. And we hope to see further relaxation of bans, and again, not just by India, but also by all countries who have imposed them,' Mr. Rice said.

 

Russia-Ukraine war impact

Last month, India announced that it was banning wheat exports in a bid to check high prices amid concerns of wheat output being hit by the scorching heat wave.

 

The price of wheat has jumped in the international markets after India announced a ban on the export of the staple cereal and due to the reduced production prospects in Ukraine following the Russian invasion, the UN food agency has said.

 

The Indian government later eased the wheat export ban by allowing the consignments already with customs on or before May 13 to go through.

 

Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan told the Ministerial Meeting on ‘Global Food Security Call to Action’ chaired by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken under the US Presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of May that India is 'committed to ensuring that such adverse impact on food security is effectively mitigated and the vulnerable cushioned against sudden changes in the global market.

 

'In order to manage our own overall food security and support the needs of neighbouring and other vulnerable developing countries, we have announced some measures regarding wheat exports on May 13, 2022,' he said.

 

'Let me make it clear that these measures allow for export on the basis of approvals to those countries who are required to meet their food security demands. This will be done on the request from the concerned governments. Such a policy will ensure that we will truly respond to those who are most in need,' he added, emphasising that India will play its due role in advancing global food security.

What really happened to a large wheat export consignment from India that business conglomerate ITC Ltd had shipped out mid-May?

 

Why did Turkey reject it? Did Egypt reject it too? How can wheat be contaminated by the rubella virus, which infects humans?

 

Is this ship loitering in international waters looking for a buyer? Or is this all just a grand global commodities trade conspiracy at a time the world is grappling with food inflation and grain shortages?

 

The answer to the last question may not be known for a while, if at all, but Rajnikant Rai, CEO of ITC’s agribusiness division, set the record straight on the rest, rubbishing claims that the shipment fell short of the contracted quality parameters.

 

The 55,000-tonne consignment was sold to a Dutch firm named ETG Commodities, which appointed a Swiss company, SGS, for quality tests, Rai told ThePrint in an exclusive interview.

 

'ITC delivered the contracted quality and the ship sailed mid-May. We later came to know that ETG sold it to a Turkish buyer. End May, we learnt, the shipment was rejected by Turkey,' Rai said. Both ITC and ETG have received payment for the deal, he added.

 

'But neither us nor ETG ever received any report on the reason for rejection. To say that the wheat was rejected due to the presence of rubella virus or it had lower than required protein content, and that after Turkey, Egypt, too, rejected it, are just rumors,' he said.

 

'The ship never sailed to Egypt and now it is berthing at a port in Israel waiting to be unloaded,' Rai added, indicating that a new buyer had been found for the consignment.

 

According to an official with an international commodity trading firm who wished to not be named, there could be 'commercial or geopolitical reasons at play here'. 'Raising quality concerns looks like an attempt to tarnish India’s reputation as a global grains supplier,' the official said.

 

A handful of traders from Europe dominate and control the wheat trade in the Middle East and African markets, said S. Chandrasekaran, a New Delhi-based trade analyst, adding that the Indian wheat consignment being infected by the Rubella virus is 'a myth created by Turkey'.

 

Navigating the global wheat market

According to Rai, ITC exported about 1.8 million tonnes of wheat in 2021-22, and shipped 1.3 million tonnes of wheat in April and May this year.

 

'But not a single consignment ever faced any problem. What was sent to Turkey was top-quality durum wheat sourced from Madhya Pradesh with protein content close to 14 per cent.'

 

Rai added that the rubella virus is not part of wheat contract specifications anywhere in the world.

 

India faced heavy criticism internationally after it banned wheat exports on 13 May to stem the surge in domestic food prices. International wheat prices were 56 per cent higher year-on-year in May, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. Global food prices have been on a rise following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

 

India, which contributes about 40 per cent in volume-terms to the global rice trade, has so far been a marginal player in wheat trade. However, the current crisis provided an opportunity for India to emerge as a serious player in wheat and position itself as a dominant food exporter.

 

Trade analyst Chandrasekaran said 'rubella is a myth created by Turkey'.

 

'It is now attempting to control the global wheat trade by facilitating grains stuck at the Odessa port in Ukraine. If ongoing talks between Ukraine, Russia and Turkey succeed, large quantities of wheat stuck in Ukraine may hit global markets in a controlled manner,' he added.

 

'So, Turkey sees no reason to allow Indian wheat [in the market]. By rejecting Indian wheat, it is trying to send a signal to the market that large supplies are going to hit soon and Turkey will be in charge of the logistics. In the process, India, perhaps is becoming a victim of powerful trade lobbies and global geopolitics.'

India shipped out as much as 11.3 lakh tonnes of wheat in May, of which 4-5 lakh tonnes were despatched after a ban on the grain’s exports was imposed on May 13, sources told FE. The total shipment of the grain in May was close to 3 times of the level a year before.

 

Indonesia and Bangladesh have emerged as the biggest beneficiaries of the post-ban despatches, with each importing at least 1 lakh tonnes of Indian wheat, a trading source said. On top of these, the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) had earlier allowed exports of 61,500 tonnes to Egypt. These supplies also include aid.

 

Importantly, 27.4 lakh tonnes of wheat (worth $902 million) have been exported until June 2 this fiscal, about four times from a year before. In FY22, the country had exported a record 72 lakh tonnes of wheat worth $2.12 billion.

 

While prohibiting wheat exports last month to curb domestic price rise, the government stated the shipments that were already backed by letters of credit (LCs) issued before the ban would be allowed. New Delhi also made it amply clear that it would cater for the genuine need of neighbouring countries and food-deficit nations through government-to-government deals and honour supply commitments already made.

 

However, suspecting a flood of fake and illegal LCs, the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) last week warned wheat exporters that it would examine cases for referral to the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Economic Offence Wing if they were found to be using back-dated LCs to get permits for shipping out the grain.

 

Apart from Indonesia and Bangladesh, the UAE, South Korea, Oman and Yemen are among a growing list of countries that have approached India for wheat under bilateral arrangements between governments after May 13. The government is considering their requests.

India and France on Wednesday hoped for the conclusion of the proposed free trade agreement between India and European Union before 2024, an official statement said.

 

India and the EU (European Union) bloc are due to reopen FTA (Free Trade Agreement) talks in Brussels on June 17, the commerce ministry said in a statement.

 

The issue came up for discussions during the meeting between a French delegation with minister of state for commerce and industry Som Parkash.

 

A four-member French delegation led by Special Representative for Bilateral Economic Relations Paul Hermelin called on the minister of state here on Wednesday.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Hermelin said France is keen to pursue the FTA negotiations between European Union and India.

 

'Both sides hoped to conclude the agreement before 2024. The pact will pave the way for India to give a boost to trade with the 27-member nation EU bloc, subject to ratification by both sides including the European Parliament,' the ministry said.

 

Parkash highlighted India's priorities ahead of the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the WTO (World Trade Organisation) to be held in Geneva next week.

 

The minister also sought support of the government of France for India's proposal seeking TRIPS (Trade related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) waiver in view of the global fight against the Covid pandemic.

 

He also pointed out India's stance on WTO negotiations related to e-commerce and the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions that are due to expire in the run up to the MC12.