India restricts wheat flour exports

India has tweaked export policy for wheat flour and asked traders to secure permission before exporting the commodity, the government said in a notification published on Thursday.

New Delhi banned wheat exports in mid-May as a scorching heatwave curtailed output and domestic prices hit a record high. read more

After the ban, demand for wheat flour jumped from neighbouring countries struggling to secure wheat at lower prices from other suppliers.

The restriction on wheat flour exports would be effective from July 12, the government said.

India had earlier banned wheat exports in May, days after saying it was targeting record shipments this year, as a scorching heat wave curtailed output and domestic prices soared to an all-time high.

Although it is not one of the world’s top wheat exporters, India’s ban drove global prices to new peaks given already tight supply, hitting poor consumers in Asia and Africa particularly hard.