India lifts wheat export ban after years of restrictions

India has lifted its ban on wheat exports, allowing shipments to resume with immediate effect, a move that could ease pressure on global wheat markets, Interfax reports.

The decision, announced by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade on August 24, applies to durum wheat, flour and other wheat products.

India had largely banned wheat exports since 2022 after initially increasing grain shipments as prices surged following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The government imposed restrictions over concerns about domestic food security amid an unusually severe heatwave, Bloomberg reports.

India’s wheat harvest reached a record 120.6 million tonnes in the latest agricultural year. The US Department of Agriculture forecasts that the country’s wheat stocks will also reach a record high by the end of the 2026/27 agricultural year, indicating the availability of exportable surpluses.

In February, India eased restrictions by allowing limited wheat shipments as record harvests increased domestic supplies and pushed prices lower.

The lifting of the restrictions could ease pressure on wheat-importing countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East amid disruptions to shipments from Black Sea ports linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 1.7% on August 24 to $7.1175 a bushel, after reaching $7.1325 earlier in the session, their highest level since spring 2024.

By Aghakazim Guliyev