Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 24: The government on Monday amended the export policy for several wheat products, moving them from the prohibited category to the free category, according to a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

Under the revised policy, exports of wheat or meslin flour (atta), maida, semolina (rava), wholemeal atta and resultant atta will now be permitted without restrictions.

The Centre had imposed export curbs on wheat and wheat products in 2022 to ensure domestic food security and contain rising prices.

On May 13, 2022, the government changed the export policy for wheat from free to prohibited. Restrictions were subsequently extended to wheat flour exports in August that year.

The measures were introduced amid disruptions to global wheat supplies following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which increased overseas demand for Indian wheat and pushed up domestic prices.

The government had said the restrictions were necessary to safeguard food security for the country’s 1.4 billion population and control rising prices of wheat and wheat flour.

Despite the broader restrictions, certain exceptions were allowed for specific wheat products.

In February this year, the government permitted exports of 25 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat and an additional 5 LMT of wheat products, citing improved domestic stock availability.

The latest move comes amid a rise in India’s overall foodgrain output.

According to data released in May, total foodgrain production increased by 5.3 per cent to an all-time high of 376.563 million tonnes in 2025-26, compared with 357.732 million tonnes in the previous year.

Rice production was estimated at 154.024 million tonnes, up from 150.184 million tonnes in 2024-25, an increase of 3.84 million tonnes.

Wheat production was estimated at 120.657 million tonnes, 2.712 million tonnes higher than the 117.945 million tonnes recorded in the previous year.