NewDelhi: Egypt, a big importer of wheat from Ukraine and Russia, will now buy wheat from India. Egypt has approved India as a wheat supplier. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal gave this information on Friday.
Piyush Goyal tweeted, ‘The farmers of India are feeding the world. Egypt has approved India as a wheat supplier. When the world is looking for a reliable alternative source of sustainable food supply, the Modi government has come forward. Our farmers have stocked up and we are ready to serve the world.
Indian farmers are feeding the world.
Egypt approves India as a wheat supplier. Modi Govt. steps in as world looks for reliable alternate sources for steady food supply.
Our farmers have ensured our granaries overflow & we are ready to serve the world.https://t.co/h56oSc3HDC
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) April 15, 2022
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Global wheat availability declined due to the Russia-Ukraine war
In fact, due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, there has been a sharp decline in the availability of wheat in the global market. This is because both the countries are major producers and exporters of wheat.
Egypt imported wheat worth about $1.8 billion from Russia and $610.8 billion from Ukraine in 2020. The African country wants to import 1 million tonnes of wheat from India and will need 2,40,000 tonnes of wheat in April.
Most of India’s wheat goes to Bangladesh and neighbours
India’s wheat exports are mainly to neighboring countries. Bangladesh has the largest share of 54% both in terms of volume and value in 2020-21. Apart from this, India’s wheat is also supplied in Nepal, UAE, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Afghanistan, Qatar, Indonesia, Oman,and Malaysia.
India’s share in wheat exports is less than 1%
India’s share in the world’s wheat exports is less than 1%. However, its share increased from 0.14% in 2016 to 0.54% in 2020. India is the second-largest producer of wheat with a share of around 14.14% of the world’s total production in 2020.
A major part of India’s wheat production goes to domestic consumption
India produces about 107.59 million tonnes of wheat annually. A major part of this goes to domestic consumption. The major wheat-producing states in India are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Gujarat.
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