Turkey returned the wheat consignment back to India citing the rubella virus. India had banned the export of wheat on 13 May. Prior approval was given to send wheat to Turkey. The wheat that Turkey returned to India stating bad, is now being sent to Egypt. Egypt is facing a shortage of bread due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Egypt, one of the biggest importers of wheat, wants to buy wheat from other countries including India at a lower price. The wheat which Turkey had refused to accept as poor quality, has been bought by Egypt.
India had banned the export of wheat on 13 May. Earlier, India had approved a consignment of 56,000 tonnes of wheat to Turkey. Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said on Thursday that the quarantine and other necessary procedures were completed before the wheat consignment was dispatched from India. He said that the Turkish authorities have not been able to talk about the refusal to take the consignment of wheat. Pandey said this consignment of wheat was from the Indian company ITC Limited. I was told that the financial transaction regarding this transaction was completed. The Indian company had sold this wheat to a foreign company, from where this wheat reached the Turkish company.
Turkey’s decision comes at a time when international buyers have been looking to secure supplies of wheat. The global supply of wheat has been severely affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since the two countries account for one-fourth of the global wheat trade. When the Russia-Ukraine conflict led to supplies moving out of the market, India emerged as a potential global supplier for wheat exports. The sudden ban on wheat exports trapped about 1.8 million tonnes of the grain at ports, potentially forcing traders to take heavy losses.
The Centre has said that apart from meeting the food grain requirements of neighbouring and vulnerable countries, the decision will help control the retail prices of wheat and flour, which have risen by an average of 14 to 20 percent in the last one year. On May 13, the commerce ministry banned wheat exports, as an intense heat wave hit output and domestic prices hit a record high.
Why was Wheat returned:
It was told in the report of S&P Global Commodity Insights that due to the Rubella virus found in wheat of India, it was returned. An ITC spokesperson said ITC had sold this wheat to a company in the Netherlands. This consignment was dispatched only after wheat testing and all approvals were done. Government officials had said on Thursday that five countries had officially asked for wheat from India after the ban on wheat exports. The government says that it will sell wheat to governments and not to private companies.
Exporters were aware of this development state that the wheat consignment reached Turkey in about two weeks. It is possible that during this time the wheat got spoiled due to changes in temperature and moisture. Experts claim that there can not be any possibility of virus in wheat. Rubella virus is caused by an infection in seed or soil. It could be traced before the wheat was loaded into the ship. It could be a case of negligence. Experts have expressed concern about the frequent mill complaints of virus in wheat of India. Earlier this year, Indonesia rejected India’s agricultural products citing quality. Such cases are not caught because the testing labs in India do not work properly.
