Damaging India's credibility

Wheat export ban should have been avoided

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in the Union government, through a notice in the Gazette on Friday, banned the export of wheat from India with immediate effect. The DGFT’s principal reason for this decision is to “manage the overall food security of the country and to support the needs of the neighbouring and other vulnerable countries”. This comes after unusually high temperatures in the north of India in particular affected the crop, possibly halving yields in some parts of the area under cultivation. Meanwhile, the Russian invasion of Ukraine — a major wheat producer and exporter — has