South Africa tour of India 2019
Global Wheat Prices Hit A Record High After India Bans Wheat Exports.
In Europe, wheat prices surged to a new record high after India banned the export of the commodity due to a heatwave.
The price jumped to 435 euros per tonne as the Euronext market opened, up from the previous record of 422 euros reached on Friday.
Global wheat prices have soared on supply fears since Russia's February invasion of agricultural powerhouse Ukraine, which previously accounted for 12% of global exports.
INDIA BANS WHEAT EXPORTS
The world's second-largest wheat producer, India, announced on Saturday that it was banning exports, with traders needing express government approval to enter into new deals.
New Delhi said the move was needed to protect the food security of its own 1.4 billion people in the face of lower production and sharply higher global prices.
Because of the sharp rise in global prices, some farmers were selling to traders and not the govt. This got the center worried about its buffer stock of almost 20 million tonnes -- depleted by the pandemic -- needed for handouts to millions of low-income families and to avert any possible famine.
CRITICISM FROM G7
Group of Seven industrialized nations criticized the export ban harshly. According to them, such measures would further exacerbate the crisis of rising commodity prices.
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