In a relief to flour millers, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has urged the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to take appropriate action on a request from millers to open exports of wheat products with a quantitative restriction of 1 million tonnes (mt).
The DGFT functions under the Ministry of Commerce. The request, according to sources, has been made in view of surplus production of both wheat and wheat products, and their ample domestic availability.
In a letter to DGFT, the ministry said that as flour millers have sought allowing exports due to prevailing surplus and strong production outlook, necessary action as deemed appropriate is “requested to be taken”.
Wheat products that are meant for consumption include wheat bran (choker), whole wheat flour (atta), fine wheat flour (maida), semolina coarse (suji motee), and fine macaroni products, etc.
India being a major producer of wheat is also a big exporter of wheat products to world markets that include European and Asian countries, and also Africa. India a few years ago not only banned wheat exports but also put a curb on exports of products to protect domestic consumers.
However, a few months back, it allowed exports of wheat bran whole as prices dipped sharply due to extensive use of distillers’ dried grains with soluble (DDGS) — a protein-rich by-product of ethanol production — for animal feed in place of wheat bran. This led to a sharp drop in bran prices as well.
