Russia Ukraine war: Egypt to import wheat from India

Egypt, which is one of the largest importers of wheat from Ukraine and Russia, has approved India as a wheat supplier, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.

There is a sharp decline in the availability of wheat in the global markets due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Both the nations are major producers and exporters of wheat.

Egypt imported wheat worth about USD 1.8 billion from Russia and USD 610.8 million from Ukraine in 2020.

The African nation is looking to import 1 million tonne of wheat from India and would need 2,40,000 tonne in April.

“Indian farmers are feeding the world. Egypt approves India as a wheat supplier. Modi Govt. steps in as the world looks for reliable alternate sources for steady food supply. Our farmers have ensured our granaries overflow and we are ready to serve the world,” Goyal said in a tweet.

India's wheat exports increased to USD 1.74 billion in April-January 2021-22 as against USD 340.17 million in the same period last year.

In 2019-20, wheat exports were worth USD 61.84 million, which rose to USD 549.67 million in 2020-21.

India's wheat exports are mainly to neighbouring countries with Bangladesh having the largest share of more than 54 percent in both volume and value terms in 2020-21. It has entered new wheat markets such as Yemen, Afghanistan, Qatar, and Indonesia.

The top ten countries importing Indian wheat in 2020-21 were Bangladesh, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Afghanistan, Qatar, Indonesia, Oman and Malaysia.

India accounts for less than 1 percent in the world's wheat export. However, its share has increased from 0.14 percent in 2016 to 0.54 percent in 2020. India is the second-largest producer of wheat with a share of around 14.14 percent in the world's total production in 2020.

India produces around 107.59 million tonne of wheat annually while a major chunk of it goes towards domestic consumption.

Major wheat-growing states in India are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Gujarat.