Nearly four years after imposing a blanket ban on wheat exports, the Centre on Friday approved shipments of 2.5 million tonnes (mt) of the grain and 500,000 tonnes of processed products, citing comfortable domestic stocks and a favourable production outlook.
The approval follows a review of stock and price conditions. Wheat stocks with private entities in 2025-26 are estimated at around 7.5mt, nearly 3.2mt higher than a year ago, according to the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution.
In addition, wheat availability in the central pool with the Food Corporation of India is projected at about 18.2mt as on 1 April 2026, indicating that buffer norms will remain intact even after exports, it said.
Wheat acreage in the Rabi 2026 season has also increased to 33.42 million hectares from 32.80 million hectares a year ago, pointing to expectations of another strong harvest.
“In view of higher stock availability, softening prices, the expectation of a higher production this season, and the need to prevent distress sales during peak arrivals, the government has decided to permit the export of 2.5mt of wheat and 500,000 tonnes of wheat products,” the ministry said in a statement.
This calibrated step will help stabilize domestic prices, improve market liquidity, ensure efficient stock rotation, and strengthen farmers’ incomes, while fully safeguarding national food security, it added.
India banned wheat exports on 13 May 2022 to control rising domestic prices and ensure food security amid lower output due to a severe heatwave. The decision also came at a time when global prices were surging after the Russia-Ukraine conflict, raising concerns that private shipments could deplete domestic supplies and fuel food inflation.
Since then, India has allowed only limited government-to-government shipments on humanitarian grounds, keeping commercial trade largely shut.
Earlier, on 16 January, the Centre permitted limited exports of wheat flour and related products through a tightly controlled authorization mechanism. Under the amended policy, exports of wheat or meslin flour—including atta, maida, semolina (rava/suji), wholemeal atta and resultant atta—up to a cumulative ceiling of 500,000 tonnes were allowed against export authorizations to be issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, subject to conditions and procedures notified separately.
However, these items remain in the “prohibited” category under the export policy, with shipments permitted only with specific government approvals.
Mint reported on 2 May 2025 that the Centre will consider resuming exports of maida, semolina, and wheat flour (atta).
Other export relaxations
Alongside wheat, the government has also allowed an additional 500,000 tonnes of sugar exports for the ongoing 2025-26 sugar season, over and above the 1.5mt permitted in November 2025. Data shared by mills show that only 197,000 tonnes had been exported as of 31 January 2026, while contracts for 272,000 tonnes have been signed, it said.
The additional 500,000 tonnes export quota will be made available to sugar mills that opt to participate, subject to the condition that at least 70% of their allocated quantity is physically exported by 30 June 2026.
The quota will be distributed on a pro-rata basis among eligible and willing mills, which must convey their willingness within 15 days of the issuance of the order, and the allocated export quota will be non-transferable and cannot be swapped or exchanged between mills, the ministry said.
The expanded sugar export window is aimed at managing surplus stocks and improving cash flows of mills, it said.
In the final estimates of crop production for 2024-25 released by the ministry of agriculture in November 2025, wheat has registered record growth, rising to 117.95mt, an increase of 4.65mt over 2025’s 113.29mt.
Farmers have welcomed the move, saying it will help increase wheat prices. They said that compared to other crops, wheat prices were relatively lower, which affected their returns.
“The current prices were not giving us enough profit. Allowing exports should help improve wheat prices in the domestic market. This has been our demand for a long time,” said Pritam Singh, a Panipat-based farmer who cultivates wheat on 150 acres. He said better prices would substantially improve farmers’ incomes.
According to the consumer affairs ministry, the retail price of wheat on 13 February stood at ₹31.83 per kg, compared with ₹32.63 per kg on the same day last year—a marginal decline of about 2.5% year-on-year.