Agri insurtech company IBISA announced that Ankur Capital, an India-based leading early-stage venture capital fund focused on transformative technologies in deeptech and climate tech has joined its seed round. Luxembourg-based IBISA is on a mission to empower the Agri value chain players with innovative weather protection insurance solutions.

 

Founded in 2019, IBISA started its operations in India with the DHAN Foundation to provide parametric insurance against drought coverage in Tamil Nadu. Fast forward to now, IBISA is scaling its operations in India with operations in Odisha, Karnataka, Telangana for coverage against excess rainfall, excess wind speed and drought. They have also opened a registered office in Feb 2022 in Bengaluru.

 

70% of the global food supply comes from smallholder farmers and more than 50% of the Indian workforce is into agriculture and allied sectors that contribute to just 20% of India’s GDP. With climate change happening at a rapid scale, most of these smallholder farmers are vulnerable to unforeseen climatic conditions that lead to damage of crops. It is not that there are not any insurance solutions to cater that, but there is a huge gap between the cost of insurance and the willingness to pay premiums and the relevance of the existing insurance products and the need of the farmers.

 

Ritu Verma, Partner at Ankur Capital stated, 'The unavailability of data has hampered the growth of the agricultural insurance industry in developing countries for decades. Legacy crop insurance involved long manual processes making them impractical for developing markets where smallholder farming is the norm, and parametric insurance has historically been unviable due to the lack of detailed climate-related datasets.'

 

'Farming is an integral part of both our societal and economic infrastructure. The impact that the war in Ukraine is having on food prices and food security seriously underscores the importance of global agriculture. And yet the support isn’t there. With IBISA, we sought to create technology that would help reduce costs for the active players in the insurance space. Finding a way to responsibly protect farmers in the event of extreme weather, by slashing distribution and operating costs, making it affordable to many groups in the value chain. And it’s no small challenge. But we’re already seeing results. A small evidence of our success is the fact that when the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Odette in Dec 2021, our insurance partner, CLIMBS was able to do payouts within 10 days after the typhoon hit Philippines with IBISA’s weather protection coverage in place,' commented Maria Mateo Iborra, CEO & co-founder, IBISA.

 

Apart from India, IBISA has its operations in New Zealand, Guatemala, Senegal, Philippines, and other African countries. With strong insurance and reinsurance partnerships across different geographies and tailor-made products for lack of rain, excess rainfall, extreme temperatures, excess wind speed and cyclones, IBISA is able to address the needs of various Agri value chain players.

 

So whether there is a risk pertaining to defaults, securing the supply chain, strengthening farmer connection or increasing sustainability practices in agriculture, weather protection insurance solutions act as a tool to mitigate unforeseen climate-risks and empower organizations and ultimately farmers to increase their resilience against climate change.

 

The company is also in talks with a number of large lenders, food processors, and agritech clients across different geographies to mitigate their credit risk against default, reduce their supply chain risks and increase their sustainability practices in agriculture and strengthen farmer connection with smallholder farmers in India and abroad.

The Indian industry is set to provide more inputs to the government on the on-going India-UK Free Trade Agreement, which is expected to double bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030, as negotiations have now entered an advanced stage with October-end fixed as the deadline to conclude talks.

 

'After the fifth round of negotiations on the India-UK FTA concluded recently, there is more clarity on what each side wants and what could be achieved. It is the right time to take more inputs from the industry to push for what it wants and also protect what needs to be shielded,' a person tracking the matter told Business Line.

 

Exporters’ body Federation of Indian Export Organisations has organised a discussion with industry representatives and experts next week on the likely impact of the proposed India-UK FTA and invite further suggestions on the pact that the government could incorporate.

 

'In the area of goods, UK is keen on more market access for items such as transport equipment, electrical equipment, medical devices, chemicals, motor vehicles and parts as well as wines and spirits and some fruits and vegetables. While the government has held a lot of consultations with various industry sectors on crucial areas, more inputs at this point of the negotiations could be helpful,' the source said.

 

The Indian industry hopes to make big gains from the FTA with the UK in areas such as textiles, food and beverages, tobacco, leather & footwear, and agriculture items including rice.

 

Services trade

Apart from manufactured products, India also holds strong services trade relation with the UK and is the 10th largest service trade partner to the UK, according to a communication from FIEO to its members. 'India is the 20th largest export destination for UK with a 1.3 per cent share and for India, UK is the 7th largest export destination with 3.5 per cent share in the UK’s global services imports…It is expected that the FTA between India and the UK will significantly help to bring down the current trade barriers and restrictions o­n trading in goods and services between the two countries and is likely to boost investments and exports across sectors,' it said.

 

In the area of services, India is pushing for greater liberalisation of work visa norms and mutual recognition of professionals.

 

The India-UK FTA negotiation was formally launched in January 2022 by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK Trade Secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan. India also launched FTA negotiations with the EU this year.

The Punjab Government has suspended the use of 10 pesticides for 60 days in the State to ensure that Basmati rice exported from the country does not have excess pesticide residue, but the move has drawn criticism from some quarters.

 

According to the State government’s order, the sale, stock and distribution of Acephate, Buprofezin, Chloropyriphos, Methamidophos, Propiconazole, Thiamethoxam, Profenofos, Isoprothioland, Carbendazim and Tricyclazole have been barred from August 12. 

 

Balancing food security

The Bhagwant Singh Mann Government said it believed the pesticides were not in the interest of Basmati rice growers. It also pointed to demand from the Punjab Rice Millers and Exporters Association for such a move. 

 

However, the decision has not convinced many since the Centre has not been taken into confidence over the move and it leaves a bad impression on the rest of the Basmati-growing States.

 

'The policy of the Punjab Government has to be holistic and not reactionary. Though Basmati exports are declining in view of the pesticide residue issue, why hasn’t the Centre resorted to such a measure? The Union Government is attempting to find a balance between food security and exports,' said S Chandrasekaran, basmati rice historian and author of 'Basmati rice: The Natural History Geographical Indication'.

 

Apart from Punjab, Basmati rice is grown in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh besides the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is also grown in Madhya Pradesh, but the rice grown there has not been covered under Geographical Indication. 

 

‘Why not in Delhi?’

'Punjab has been resorting to such suspension over the past three years. These pesticides issue has been creating quite a problem. The suspension is during the cultivation period only and is confined to Basmati rice growing areas,' said Vinod Kaul, Executive Director, All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA). 

 

An industry analyst pointed out that the Aam Admi Party (AAP), which is currently the ruling party in Punjab, has not resorted to such a measure in Delhi, where it has been in power for over seven years now. 

 

Chandrasekaran said the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) has a track record in developing successful Basmati varieties. Pointing to a BusinessLine report on IARI developing a new pest-resistant variety, he said, 'Probably, the Punjab Government should have waited for the variety to be released this year as it is in the multiplication stage.'

 

FSSAI MRL norms

The analyst said the Food Safety and Standards of India (FSSAI) had come out with maximum residue limits (MRL) norms which are stricter than Codex standards that are followed worldwide.

 

'While exporters did not want the FSSAI norms to be implemented, they have welcomed the Punjab Government initiative. This is curious,' the analyst said. 

 

Dwelling on the 60-day suspension, Chandrasekaran said if the weather turns hot all of a sudden, growers tend to spray Tricyclazole to prevent any fungal attack on the crop. 'What will the growers do now if the temperature shoots up all of a sudden?' he wondered.

 

The Basmati historian said the Punjab Agricultural University has claimed to come out with an alternative prescription to these insecticides. 'But large-scale testing has not been done. Will the Punjab Government compensate the growers in case of a crop failure?' he wondered.

 

Wrong timing?

One major issue with the Punjab Government move, particularly this year, is that it is being made at a time when the area under paddy is down by 13 per cent year-on-year due to deficient rain in some rice-growing States. 'There is an element of food security risk in this. Punjab is an important contributor of rice to the nation. The State should have taken the Centre into confidence,' he said. 

 

A trade source said Punjab probably took the decision under pressure from rice exporters since rejections of consignments have increased due to pesticide residue levels being higher than prescribed norms.

 

Countries such as Qatar and Jordan have not begun to follow the European Union standards for pesticide MRL in rice.

 

According to Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority data, Basmati exports dropped 15 per cent last fiscal to 3.95 million tonnes. During April-May this fiscal, Basmati exports were up at 0.72 mt against 0.69 mt a year ago. 

 

According to the Director-General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, Kolkata, exports of rice, including Basmati, are up 18.2 per cent in the first quarter of this fiscal at Rs.21,043.34 crore. 

 

The government has issued export orders for 8.2 lakh tonne of additional sugar from August 1, and for balance 2.2 lakh tonne of sweetener will be given later this week, according to a senior Food Ministry official. The government had imposed curbs on sugar exports beyond 100 lakh tonne from June 1 to boost local availability of the commodity and control higher prices.

 

However, improvement in sugar stocks due to higher production and weak sugar demand in the domestic market led the government to reconsider and allow 12 lakh tonne of additional sugar exports from August 1.

 

'About 101.6 lakh tonne of sugar has already been exported. The export release order for 8.2 lakh tonne of additional sugar has already been issued and for the balance quantity will be issued later this week,' the official told PTI.

 

The country's sugar production has crossed 356 lakh tonne so far in the 2021-22 season ending September. Total sugar output is expected to be around 360 lakh tonne this year, higher than 322 lakh tonne achieved in the 2020-21 season, the official said.

 

Even after the easing of export curbs, closing sugar stocks of 60 lakh tonne would be maintained.

 

Sugarcane crushing in key states of Maharasthra, Uttar Pradesh and other states is set to begin in October and there would be sufficient availability of sugar in the country, the official added.

Gram Unnati, Gurgaon-based agri-tech solutions company, organised a one-day training program on pest and disease management for soyabean farmers in Rajasthan’s Baran district by partnering with the local Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) as part of its capacity building project.

 

Aneesh Jain, CEO and founder of the agri-tech company said, 'Gram Unnati has been focusing on bringing good practices and partnerships to all small holder farmers especially the ones in aspirational districts. The support and guidance from KVK, Anta and DS Spice gives us confidence to transform the lives of farmers in Baran.'.

 

Golden crop

According to Jain, the company selected the crop because, Soyabean, belonging to the legume family, is recognized as golden or miracle bean due to its high nutritive value, and various uses such as, for feed, edible oil and food products. He also said that Baran is one of the main soyabean-growing regions in Rajasthan, the third largest producing State overall.

 

In the current kharif season, soyabean acreage has reached 11.51 lakh hectares (lh) exceeding the government target of 11.5 lh until August 16. The area may cross last year’s total of 11.55 lh at the end of the sowing season (June-September). In Baran, farmers have planted soyabean in 2.54 lh so far, against target of 2.61 lh. In the year-ago period the planting was in 2.45 lh.

 

Training farmers

Jain said farmers have brought up the problem of pest and disease infestation in soyabean during interaction with his field team on several occasions. As this problem affects the quality and productivity of the crop, which makes it difficult for the farmers to sell their produce at a profit, Gram Unnati decided to hold the training session.

 

During the workshop, farmers were explained about proper agronomic procedures to be followed in soyabean to improve the crop’s quality and overall productivity with emphasis on Integrated Pest and Disease Management such as, usage of Yellow Sticky Cards and Pheromone Traps which are environment-friendly and part of sustainable agricultural practices.

 

Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Government is working to increase the application of Technology in the Agriculture sector and develop infrastructure in each village, which will create employment opportunities in Agriculture sector and attract the educated youth in the villages. Technology and Infrastructure will benefit the farmers, as well as improve the Agriculture sector. Calling for merging every individual’s efforts with the Prime Minister's resolve, Shri Tomar said this will help us find a permanent solution to make farmers prosperous and modernize Agriculture.

 

'By the Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal, Centenary Year of Indian Independence, Indian Agriculture should emerge as the world leader. Let the world laud India's Agriculture during the Amrit Kaal, come here to seek knowledge, this should be a matter of pride for us all, India should be able to fulfil its role of welfare of the world,' said Shri Tomar.

 

Union Minister Shri Tomar said this delivering the concluding episode of a series of Lectures organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The series started on 17th March 2021 and 75 lectures on various topics were delivered by experts, eminent scientists, policy-makers, spiritual leaders, motivational speakers and successful entrepreneurs. During the concluding episode, Shri Tomar delivered the lecture on 'Self-Reliant Agriculture'. He said that the Prime Minister has been constantly trying to ensure that the Agriculture sector gets full support and cooperation from the Government, therefore many schemes have been launched, and work is going on with the cooperation of the State Governments.

 

'PM Shri Modi has also given importance to the Agriculture sector in his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort, which shows his intention to bring change in this sector. PM had called for doubling the farmers' income, use of technology in Agriculture and the power of small farmers grows, our farming should be transformed into Self-Sufficient Agriculture, there should be adequate Infrastructure, let there be transparency in the implementation of agricultural plans, more research should be commissioned, farmers should shift towards remunerative crops, with increasing production and productivity farmers should get fair price for their produce. On this call of the PM, the State Governments, farmer brothers and sisters, and scientists are engaged with full force and in this ICAR also is playing the leading role. In the recent past there has been a different type of competition among the farmers as to how to increase the income, as well as after the call of PM Shri Modi, the Corporate sector also felt that their contribution to Agriculture should rise,' he said.

 

Referring to the development journey of Indian Agriculture and the contribution of ICAR, Shri Tomar said that today India is among the world's leading countries in agricultural production.

 

'We are providing for our food requirements as well as to other countries. The Government of India is making efforts that this journey picks further momentum. Agriculture and farmers have to move towards self-reliance. ICAR and agricultural scientists have done a great job in the development of Agriculture. Their endeavour has been to invent new seeds, deliver them to the fields, increase productivity, develop new technologies and deliver them to the farmers. This includes release of climate resilient seed varieties and fortified varieties. Scientists have done good work in all fields in a short time, which is benefitting the country. ICAR is a very important institution, whose arms are spread across the country. The institute is engaged to meet the needs of agriculture. On the occasion of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the ICAR family and all affiliated institutions, scientific and agricultural universities should resolve that within a stipulated period, they can establish themselves at the international level and the prestige of the country set high in the world map, we should be able to contribute to the world in the agriculture sector,' he said.

 

Shri Tomar said that ICAR is also working responsibly from the point of view of Agriculture Education. Work has been done on the inclusion of Agriculture sector in the New Education Policy. In schools also, initiatives have been taken in this direction, so that from the very beginning, children have a better understanding and awareness about Agriculture and they are aware of its importance. Today it is necessary that we work to establish new dimensions of Agriculture and to advance Agriculture. There are 86 percent small farmers in the country, who are not in a position to invest, it is important for us to improve the financial condition of these farmers. For this, ten thousand new Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) have been proposed to be set up with an expenditure of Rs 6,865 crore. Of these, about 3,000 FPOs have already been formed. Through these FPOs, the small farmers will unite, which will lead to increase in the area of ??cultivation and they will be able to use technology together, buy good quality seeds in bulk at low prices and use them, they will move towards modern farming, which will increase their power and small farmers will be able to become self-reliant.

 

 Shri Tomar said that the Government has made a provision of Infrastructure Fund of one lakh crore rupees for private investment in agriculture sector. Also, there is a fund of more than one and a half lakh crore rupees including other allied sectors. Projects worth 14 thousand crore rupees have been commissioned under the Agri Infra Fund, out of which projects worth Rs.10 thousand crores have been approved. The means of irrigation are also increasing, water is limited, so the focus is on micro irrigation. To take the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana to the common farmers, Micro Irrigation Fund has been raised from Rs. 5 thousand crores to Rs. 10 thousand crores. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi has proved to be a boon for small farmers. So far, 2 lakh crore rupees have been deposited in the bank accounts of about 11-and-a-half crore farmers under this scheme.

 

During the Lecture programme, the Welcome Address was delivered by Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Director General, ICAR. Deputy Director General, ICAR, Dr. R.C. Agarwal did conducted the proceedings. Former DG, ICAR, Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Vice Chancellors of Agricultural Universities, ICAR officials, senior faculty, scientists, professors, teachers and students, among others attended the ICAR Lecture.

SBI NSE 0.05 % Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara on Tuesday said he hopes inflation may ease towards the end of September, as supply-side constraints were being addressed.

 

Khara, who was in Bengaluru to open a dedicated branch for startups, said expectations were that inflation should come down.

 

As for the policy rates, he did not want to guess whether the Reserve Bank of India will go for another round of rate increase as the banking regulator will evaluate multiple data points and there were many moving parts in the economy.

 

The lending interest rates have headed northwards as policy rates moved up, but banks were also increasing deposit rates, the SBI chairman said.

 

Earlier this month, the RBI raised the key policy interest rate by half a percentage point to tame 'unacceptably high inflation' rate in the country.

The Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) has received overwhelming response towards the technical bids of Design, Build, Fund, Own & Operate (DBFOT) tender under Hub and Spoke Model. Taking into consideration modernization of foodgrain storage infrastructure in the country, a new model for development of grain Silos across the country i.e. Hub & Spoke Model in Public Private Partnership (PPP) Mode has been proposed.

 

Total of 38 bids have been received against 4 bundles comprising of 14 locations in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra & Madhya Pradesh. Total 15 prospective parties have shown their interest and submitted their bids. Technical Evaluation is expected to be completed in 3-4 weeks. 

 

Hub and Spoke Model is a transportation system which consolidates the transportation assets from standalone locations referred to as 'Spoke' to a central location named as 'Hub' for long distance transportation. Hubs have a dedicated railway siding and container depot facility while the transportation from Spoke to Hub is undertaken through road and from Hub to Hub vai rail. This model by harnessing the efficiency of railway siding, promotes cost efficiency through bulk storage & movement, reduces cost and time of handling and transportation and simplifies operational complexities in addition to economic development, infrastructure development & employment generation in the country. Besides, Silo are declared as sub Mandi yard which brings ease of procurement for farmers and leads to reduction in logistics cost.

 

Under Hub and Spoke Model, the Department has proposed to develop a capacity of  111.125 LMT of Hub and Spoke Model Silos at 249 locations across the country under Design, Build, Fund, Own & Transfer (DBFOT) (FCI’s land) and Design, Build, Fund, Own & Operate (DBFOO) (Land of concessionaire/other agency) mode, through implementing agency i.e. Food Corporation of India (FCI).

 

Tenders have been floated for construction of silos at 14 locations (10.125) on DBFOT mode on 26/04/2022 and for 66 locations (24.75 LMT) on DBFOO mode on 21/06/2022.

The food ministry on Tuesday said it has received 38 technical bids for setting up of state-of-the-art wheat silos under the private public partnership (PPP) model across 14 locations in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

 

This is part of a broader Rs 9,200-crore project to build wheat silos with 11 million tonne (mt) of capacity during the next four-five years under the PPP mode. These silos will be spread over 249 locations across 12 states, under a new ‘hub and spoke’ mode. These silos will be used for storing wheat for the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

 

According to a food ministry statement, 15 parties have shown their interest and submitted their bids, and technical evaluation is expected to be completed in 3-4 weeks.

 

Hubs have a dedicated railway siding and container depot facility, while the transportation from spoke to hub is undertaken through road, and from hub to hub via rail.

 

The silos are being built under the design, build, fund, own and transfer (DBFOT) mode where the land is owned by the FCI and via the design, build, fund, own and operate (DBFOO) model where land belongs to private entities.

 

The FCI had floated a tender in April for the construction of 14 locations under the DBFOT mode, with combined capacity of 1 mt. In the second phase, a tender for construction of 66 silos with 2.47-mt capacity was floated under DBFOO in June.

 

The FCI will use the silos for storage of wheat through a lease of 30 years with private entities. Fixed storage charges to be paid by the FCI to private entities, based on a per-tonne, per-year basis, are the bidding parameters. This fixed charge escalates by 70% of the wholesale price index and 30% of the consumer price index.

 

Silos are declared as sub-mandi yards, which bring ease of procurement for farmers and lead to reduction in logistics costs.

 

As part of a pilot initiative, two rice silos with a combined storage capacity of 25,000 tonne are currently being built at Buxar and Kaimur in Bihar by private entities for the FCI.

 

Food ministry officials say that if food grains are stored in silos and transported in bulk, losses due to theft, pilferage and transportation would be negligible compared to the food grains stored in warehouses.

 

The FCI stores around 50-60 mt of rice and wheat at any given point of time. Silos ensure better preservation of food grains and enhance shelf life.

Wheat prices at key mandis across the country are ruling around 14%-19% above the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,015 a quintal for the current rabi season (2022-23), as traders are holding on to stocks in anticipation of a further rise in prices in the build-up to the festive season, industry sources told FE.

 

Traders’ action has blunted the impact of a ban on wheat exports, imposed on May 13 to keep domestic supplies steady, amid a drop in production. In fact, according to the wholesale price inflation data released on Tuesday, price pressure in wheat jumped to 13.61% in July from 10.34% in the previous month.

 

Wheat prices have touched Rs 2,400 a quintal at Sehore, one of the biggest mandis in Madhya Pradesh, while those are ruling around Rs 2,300 a quintal in Chittorgarh mandi, Rajasthan. Arrivals, meanwhile, have been quite sluggish for the last few weeks.

 

In Delhi, flour millers are buying wheat at around Rs 2,350-2,400 a quintal.

 

The spike in prices is despite the government imposing restrictions on wheat exports in the middle of May and the recently imposed export restrictions on all types of flour made from wheat, including semolina (rava flour or suji) and refined flour (maida).

 

'Most of the traders had purchased wheat by paying around Rs 200-250 per quintal as premium over MSP from farmers during the procurement season in April in anticipation of exports surge and they have already incurred cost of storage and interest on the bank loan availed,' Mukesh Khatod, a trader from Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, said.

 

According to Khatod, once the mandi prices touch Rs 2,500 a quintal, traders would start selling in the market. Since the government had imposed a ban on wheat export in May, traders are waiting for the prices to go up before they release their stock in the market.

 

Gagan Gupta, a trader in Sehore, said that prices are expected to rise further due to coming demand because of the approaching festive season.

 

'Prices of wheat are likely to remain on a higher side till the arrival of fresh wheat crop in April as many traders, who still hold stock, have incurred cost of buying wheat mostly from Madhya Pradesh at Rs 2,500 per quintal,' Ramesh Sharaf, president, Gujarat Flour Millers Association, said.

 

This year the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will not undertake open-market sale of wheat from the surplus stocks, after many years of lower stocks and sharp fall in procurement this season.

 

In FY22, the FCI had sold more than 7 million tonne (mt) of wheat in the open market for which the price was fixed around 8% more than the MSP of the year of procurement of the grain.

 

Meanwhile, the Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation (Hafed) on Tuesday decided to sell more than 0.1 mt of wheat in the open market. This comes after the flour-milling industry recently met the food secretary and informed him about the dwindling availability of wheat in the market.

 

Hafed had purchased 0.2 mt of wheat at above the MSP prices for exports.

 

In the rabi marketing season (April-June) for 2022-23, wheat procurement by the FCI dropped by more than 56.6% to 18.7 mt against 43.3 mt purchased from the farmers in the previous year. Lower procurement has been attributed to decline in production.

 

On August 1, wheat stocks in the central pool stood at 26.6 MT against the buffer norm of 20.5 mt (for October 1), the lowest since 2008.

 

According to agriculture ministry data, wheat output in the 2021-22 crop year (July-June) declined by around 3% on year to 106 million tonne (mt) from 109 mt, the trade estimate suggests wheat out of around 98-99 mt. The US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service has estimated India’s wheat production at 99 mt.

 

In the current fiscal, India has exported around 3.5 mt of wheat. India shipped a record 7 mt of wheat worth $2 billion in FY22, against just 2.1 mt worth $0.55 billion in FY21.

 

Currently, exports are being undertaken to cater for the genuine need for food security through government-to-government (G2G) routes.