The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ordered a four-month suspension in exports and re-exports of wheat and wheat flour imported from India. The state-run news agency said that the ministry of economy of the UAE took the decision due to disruptions in global trade flows.
The ministry also stated that the grain was exported by the UAE for its domestic consumption.
“The resolution applies to all wheat varieties (spelt), namely hard, ordinary, and soft wheat, and wheat flour (spelt flour)… This decision comes in view of the international developments that have affected trade flows and in appreciation of the solid and strategic relations that bind the UAE and India, especially after the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries and the Indian government’s approval to export wheat to the UAE for domestic consumption,” the ministry said in a release.
The UAE government’s move means that many nations (mostly rich and developed countries) will now not be able to procure Indian wheat which they did earlier. It also will allow cessation of hoarding of wheat-originated from India was being stocked for being traded.
The Indian government banned exports of wheat barring those who were backed by already issued letters of credit (LCs) and to countries seeking to ensure food security.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government also wanted to ensure that hoarding of exported Indian wheat should not happen at the cost of global food security.
Union minister of external affairs S Jaishankar earlier said that international traders based out of Singapore and Dubai were hoarding Indian wheat and reselling them.
He said that when wheat exported for consumption is being used in such a manner it is India’s traditional neighbors like Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and countries like Sudan and Yemen who suffer.
“We’re not going to give speculators an open access to the Indian market so that Indian customers and the LDCs of the world get the short end of that. Curtailing speculation and preventing a diversion to higher-income countries with a greater possibility to buy because of what we saw happen with the vaccines, we don’t want to see happen with wheat,” Jaishankar said during a Q&A session at the Globsec 2022 forum in Bratislava, Slovakia last week.
(with inputs from Reuters and PTI)
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