Paddy is the main Kharif crop which is sown with the onset of the southwest monsoon in June and the harvesting starts from October onwards. The Central Government restricted exports of broken rice and imposed duty on exports on various other types on 8thSeptember’22. In an attempt to boost domestic supplies, the government also imposed a 20% export duty on all varieties of non-basmati rice except for parboiled rice.
African countries rely on both Russia and Ukraine for the import of food grains. The African Union(AU) themed 2022 as the ‘year of nutrition and food security’, but the impact of climate change, Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine has had a huge impact on its intended outcome. The United States holds Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports responsible for the reversal of the goal as most of the grain destined for Africa goes through the Black Sea.* Fears of famine arose due to a surge in food prices since the war scenario began in February, as a consequence of which, a number of African leaders visited Russia to discuss the impact of the port blockade.
Pakistan is an agricultural country that normally grows enough to meet the needs of its population. The arrival of wheat in the last two years has not played a significant role in curbing the bullish trend in local prices. Pakistan’s flood response centre said ,“A huge stock of wheat for the next 6 months is available along with strategic reserves which is sufficient till next harvesting season.”
Saudi Arabia is among the importing countries hit by disruption to Ukraine and Russia’s grain exports and surging prices of wheat and other commodities.
Saudi Arabia maintains at least 6 months of stock for various grain products to overcome any food shortages.
After months of deliberations, the Centre has finally brought an amendment in its foreign trade policy to facilitate international trade in rupee. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 16th of September 2022, notified the changes to the policy. The central bank allowed authorised banks in India to open special rupee Vostro accounts of correspondent banks of any partner trading country to facilitate trade in the Indian currency.
Food Secretary, Sudhanshu Pandey said on 21st September’22 that,” the government will very soon announce the export quota of sugar for the next marketing year starting October.” Although he did not disclose the quantity of sugar exports that will be allowed for the 2022-23 marketing year, this was mentioned at a Sugar and Ethanol conference organised by Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) and datagro. India’s Sugar Exports stood at 3.8 million tonnes(MT) in 2018-19, 5.9MT in 2019-20 and 7MT in 2020-21.
After the onslaught of Covid, businesses and traders around the world expected 2022 to bode well in their favour. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Covid already left its mark on the global supply chain which is still vexing international trade. Also, the crisis between Russia and Ukraine added to the problems. Moreover, this year, major agro-based countries around the world are facing adverse weather conditions. All of this has caused food and fuel prices to shoot up and this directly prompted both developed and developing economies to take steps to aid the situation.
Wheat markets could be getting a demand bump in 2022-23, says an analyst.* Tight global rice supplies could result in changing trade patterns in the Indian Subcontinent. On Sept. 9, India imposed a ban on exports of broken rice and a 20 percent export tariff on paddy, brown and white rice with an exception to basmati and parboiled rice. These are the first restrictions that the country imposed since 2011.
In a move to boost domestic supplies, the Government of India imposed a 20 percent export duty on all varieties of non-basmati rice except for parboiled rice. This move came into effect following a fall in area under the paddy crop due to several rounds of heatwaves throughout the country and low rainfall. The government has now extended the last date for the export of broken rice in transit till September 30 which was earlier allowed till September 15.
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the import of 150,000 Metric Tonnes of sugar to address the shortage of supply and curb rising prices in the country. According to Sugar Order No. 2, posted on the Philippines’ Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) website, half of the total import volume, or 75,000 MT, would be allocated to industrial users or companies using sugar in their manufacturing process, while the other half would be given to consumers or the market.
