By Nayan Dave & Sandip Das
Four out of 5 ships which have been stranded at Kandla port with greater than 0.26 million tonne (MT) of wheat since India imposed a cargo ban on May 13 have been allowed to depart to respective locations.
“Another ship is expected to leave Kandla port with 0.06 MT of wheat to Indonesia,” Dinesh Gupta, president of Kandla Custom Brokers’ Association, advised FE.
“These ships were half-filled with wheat when the government imposed a ban on exports. Seven more ships are waiting for berthing approval,” stated Gupta. He additionally stated these ships had come for wheat shipments, however now they’re prepared to take different accessible commodities from Kandla and Mundra ports.
Sources stated there’s round 1 MT of wheat but to be shipped from Kandla port, as the federal government is attempting to determine the precise nature of the road of credit score entered into by merchants for exports of wheat. Meanwhile, the merchants are shifting wheat baggage in warehouses within the proximity of Kandla port in anticipation of the federal government’s approval for exports.
Close to 250 merchants from Madhya Pradesh are at Kandla to search out options associated to piles of wheat inventory stranded close to the port.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan March had introduced a waiver of mandi charges for merchants who wished to export wheat from the state. Approximately 3,000 vehicles (with 25 to 30-tonne capability every) carrying wheat principally from Madhya Pradesh are nonetheless ready to be unloaded at Kandla port.
Traders have began to contract flour millers to get rid of among the amount from the port space.
Gopal Singala, former president, APMC, Gondal, Rajkot district, stated that costs of wheat within the native mandis have dropped `200-300 per quintal from round `2,450 a quintal earlier than the imposition of the wheat export ban. “We are not going to buy wheat stranded at Kandla as the stocks belong to traders and not the farmers,” stated Singala.
The export ban has come at a time when merchants have acquired orders for 4.5 MT and have been extra offers within the quick time period, in line with an export goal of 10 MT set by the federal government.
Sources stated India might nonetheless export about 3.5-4 MT of wheat regardless of the ban on cargo.
The world wheat market could be very unstable at current and costs stay elevated, owing to the scarcity attributable to the Russia-Ukraine warfare.
The export ban received’t apply to 2 sorts of shipments — exports dedicated by the Indian authorities underneath a bilateral understanding with a number of nations to satisfy their meals safety wants and shipments underneath transitional preparations, the place irrevocable letters of credit score have been issued earlier than the ban.
Source: www.financialexpress.com”