Govt lifts export curbs on wheat flour, maida and semolina

The government has amended the export policy for several wheat products and shifted from the prohibited to the free category, according to a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Monday. 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 curbs on wheat and wheat product exports in 2022 to ensure domestic food security and contain rising prices. On May 13, 2022, the export policy for wheat was changed from free to prohibited and the restrictions were extended to wheat flour exports in August that year. The decision came amid disruptions in global wheat supplies following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which boosted overseas demand for Indian wheat and pushed domestic prices higher. Meanwhile, the government said export restrictions were necessary to safeguard food security for the country’s 1.4 billion population and to check rising wheat and wheat flour prices.

Despite the ban, certain exceptions were permitted for specific wheat products. In February this year, the government allowed the export of 25 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat and an additional 5 LMT of wheat products, citing improved stock availability. According to the data released in May, India's total foodgrain production increased by 5.3 per cent to an all-time high of 376.563 million tonnes in 2025-26 compared with the corresponding figure of 357.732 million tonnes for the previous year. While detailed crop-wise figures indicate rice production at 154.024 million tonnes, compared to 150.184 million tonnes in 2024–25, an increase of 3.84 million tonnes. Wheat production was estimated at 120.657 million tonnes, which is 2.712 million tonnes higher than last year’s 117.945 million tonnes.

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