India's wheat exports rise to $872 million in April-October period

India's wheat exports jumped to USD 872 million during April-October period in the current fiscal on account of healthy demand, with Bangladesh emerging as the top destination, the commerce ministry said on Friday.

In volume terms, wheat exports during the said period rose by more than 527 per cent to 3.2 Million Tonnes (MT) from 0.51 MT in the year-ago period.

"India's wheat exports in the current fiscal (April October) rose by 546 per cent to USD 872 million from USD 135 million reported during the same period of the previous fiscal," the ministry said.

In the current fiscal, wheat exports are expected to achieve an all-time record high in volume terms, it added.

India's wheat exports are mainly to neighbouring countries, with Bangladesh having the largest share of more than 54 per cent in both volume and value terms in FY21.

Other major wheat export destinations include Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Afghanistan, Qatar, Indonesia, Oman and Malaysia.

These 10 countries account for nearly 99 per cent share of exports in both volume and value terms for FY21.

"Though India is not among the top ten wheat exporters in the global trade, its rate of growth in exports have surpassed that of all these countries, indicating the rapid strides it is taking in reaching new markets worldwide," the ministry said.

India accounts for even less than one per cent of the world wheat exports. However, its share has increased from 0.14 per cent in 2016 to 0.54 per cent in 2020.

India is the second largest producer of wheat with a share of around 13.53 per cent of the world's total production. The country produces around 107.59 MT of wheat annually and a major chunk goes towards domestic consumption.