India's DGFT Lifts Export Restrictions on Wheat and Wheat Flour on August 24

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued two notifications on August 24, lifting export restrictions on wheat and durum wheat, while allowing free export of wheat flour and related products, including atta, maida, and rava. These products are now subject to normal export regulations with immediate effect.

India had imposed export restrictions on wheat and wheat flour in 2022 to address global market disruptions, ensure domestic food supply, and curb inflation. These notifications formally revoke the relevant restrictions.

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated that, benefiting from favorable weather conditions, both planted area and production prospects in India's major wheat-growing states have reached record highs. The country's production for the 2026-27 marketing year is projected at 120 million metric tons, marking a fourth consecutive record wheat harvest. Although India is not a major global exporter, as the world's second-largest wheat producer after China, its recent bumper harvests have created conditions for expanding exports.

According to the FAS, India plays an intermittent role in the global wheat market, importing wheat in years when domestic supplies are tight or crops are affected by abnormal weather, and exporting wheat when domestic supplies are surplus or government stocks are high. In January of this year, India partially relaxed the export ban, permitting the export of 2.5 million metric tons of wheat and 1 million metric tons of wheat products under a government-regulated export allocation system.

Per FAS analysis, leveraging transportation and logistics advantages, most of India's wheat is likely to be shipped to neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Southeast Asia; most wheat products (atta or wheat flour used for making Indian-style bread) will be supplied to the Indian diaspora in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.