Amid Ukraine war, export demand soars for Indian wheat, corn: Report

Amid ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, export demand for Indian wheat, corn and spices has shot up as supplies from these two nations have come to a grinding halt.

With the international trade of agricultural commodities being forced to shift sourcing of these commodities from India, the prices have shot up. "The prices of wheat at the Kandla port have increased from Rs 2,200 per quintal to Rs 2,350-2,400 per quintal in the last four days. With the Food Corporation of India (FCI) declaring that its upcoming tender this week will be the last one in March, we think that the prices of wheat and wheat products may increase further in the next fortnight," Sanjay Puri, former president of the Roller Flour Millers Association of India told The Economic Times.

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In India, the FCI holds majority of the wheat stock.

While wheat traders want the FCI to release more wheat into the market to help keep domestic prices under control, the processing industry is worried about the rise in prices if the government decides to ramp up export. "We will be requesting the government to immediately stop export of wheat from the country as the local prices have jumped from Rs 21 per kg before the outbreak of the war to Rs 24 per kg today (Tuesday). The export demand is so huge that if we do not stop exports, then the prices can increase further and may also lead to shortages in future," Anjani Agarwal, president, Roller Flour Millers Association told the publication.

Siilarly, the demand for Indian corn has also increased as buyers have shifted from Ukraine to India, leading to an increase in its prices. "The farm gate price of corn has increased from Rs 19.50-20 per kg to Rs 22 per kg. It may hover there or come down slightly by May," Balram Yadav, Managing Director, Godrej Agrovet, told the publication.

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