India: Govt will take appropriate decision in March-April on lifting wheat export ban: DGFT chief

The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi on Thursday said the government will take an appropriate decision on the demand to lift the ban on wheat exports at the time of crop harvest around March-April.

Before this decision, a review will be done of the gap between the demand and supply of wheat in the country, he said.

The head of the DGFT was in Indore to participate in the Global Investors Summit ‘Invest Madhya Pradesh’ organised by the M.P. government.

India banned wheat exports in May 2022 with immediate effect as part of measures to control rising domestic prices.

Asked about the demand for lifting the ban, Mr. Sarangi told PTI, “The wheat crop is harvested in the country generally in March-April. Around that period, the government will take an appropriate decision on this subject. At the time when it will be felt that there is an equilibrium in the demand and supply of wheat, arrangements will be made to allow the export of this food grain,” he said on the sidelines of the investors summit.

Mr. Sarangi also said special attention should be paid to promoting exports from Madhya Pradesh in the area of textile production as there is a huge availability of cotton as the raw material for this industry in the state.

He also said along with wheat, rice, fruits, vegetables, and spices, there is a scope for increasing the export of organic and non-organic chemicals and engineering products from the state.

To a question, Sarangi said the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme is currently being run for 14 sectors and could be expanded to some more areas.

Tags: rice, wheat, India, crop, ban, domestic prices, vegetables, supply, demand, exports, fruits, harvest, spices