Export Policy / India Eases Export Curbs on Wheat-Based Products

New Delhi, Aug 24: The government has revised its export policy, easing restrictions on several wheat‑based products.

In a notification issued Monday, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) announced that items such as wheat or meslin flour (atta), maida, semolina (rava), wholemeal atta, and resultant atta have now been moved from the prohibited category to the free list.

This change means exports of these products can proceed without restrictions.

The Centre had imposed curbs in 2022 to safeguard domestic food security and contain rising prices. On May 13 that year, the export policy for wheat was changed from free to prohibited, and restrictions were extended to wheat flour exports in August.

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The move followed disruptions in global wheat supplies due to the Russia‑Ukraine conflict, which boosted overseas demand for Indian wheat and drove domestic prices higher.

At the time, the government said export restrictions were necessary “to safeguard food security for the country’s 1.4 billion population and to check rising wheat and wheat flour prices.” Despite the ban, certain exceptions were allowed for specific products.

In February this year, the Centre permitted the export of 25 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat and an additional 5 LMT of wheat products, citing improved stock availability.

Recent production data has reinforced confidence in supplies. India’s total foodgrain output rose 5.3 per cent to a record 376.563 million tonnes in 2025‑26, compared with 357.732 million tonnes the previous year.

Rice production reached 154.024 million tonnes, up 3.84 million tonnes, while wheat output climbed to 120.657 million tonnes, 2.712 million tonnes higher than last year’s 117.945 million tonnes.

(IANS)