The UAE has ordered a four-month suspension of wheat and wheat flour exports and re-exports from India, the Gulf nation’s economy ministry announced on Wednesday.
The move comes after India banned wheat exports last month in order to cool the rise in domestic prices. As a result, Indian wheat cannot be rooted in third-party countries via the UAE.
The ban, dubbed a “moratorium” by the ministry, went into effect on May 13 “in light of international developments that have affected trade flows.”
India had on May 14 banned wheat exports except for those backed by already issued letters of credit (LCs) and tocountries seeking to ensure food security. Since then, 469,202 tonnes of wheat have been shipped.
According to the UAE Ministry of Economy, the ban “applies to all wheat varieties, including hard, ordinary, and soft wheat, as well as wheat flour.” A four-month moratorium on the export and re-export of wheat and wheat flour originating in the Republic of India, including free zones, has been imposed, according to a statement.
This “decision is made in light of international developments that have affected trade flows, as well as in recognition of the strong and strategic ties that bind the UAE and India, particularly following the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries and the Indian government’s approval to export wheat to the UAE for domestic consumption.”
In February, India and the UAE signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Trade Agreement (CEPA), which aims to reduce all tariffs on each other’s goods and increase their annual trade to USD 100 billion within five years.
The agreement went into effect on May 1.
