UAE has announced the ban on the export and re-export of all varieties of wheat and wheat flour of Indian origin for a duration of four months. UAE bans Indian-origin wheat exports from the country, in order to secure its own domestic supplies.
Following the ban announced by India on its wheat exports, the UAE administration has announced the decision. The announcement states that the ban “applies to all wheat varieties, namely hard, ordinary and soft wheat and wheat flour.”
UAE Wheat Imports (2021)
UAE wheat imports shown below features the top importing countries for the year ending 2021. The top 5 importing countries for UAE’s wheat imports are—India with an import value of $135.1 million, followed by Australia with an export value of $67.1 million.
Canada is the third-largest importing country for UAE’s wheat imports, with an import value of $54.4 million. Romania is the fourth largest and the USA the fifth largest with a value of $41.1 million and $16.2 million respectively.
UAE Wheat Exports (2021)
The shown export data of the UAE features the top 5 exporting countries for UAE’s wheat exports in 2021. The exporting countries for UAE’s wheat exports are—Pakistan with an export value of $14.6 million, followed by Mozambique with an export value of $3.7 million, and Angola falling in the lowest range with a value of $469 thousand, while Egypt and Maldives are in the further the lowest range. This indicates that the exports of wheat from the UAE are virtually non-existent.
Why UAE Bans Indian-Origin Wheat?
Due to the global food shortage for wheat following the Russia-Ukraine war, the UAE bans Indian-origin wheat export and re-export. The UAE officials shared that ban applies to all wheat varieties and wheat flour too.
It is also been reported that India and the UAE signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Trade Agreement (CEPA) in February 2022, allowing them to exchange goods and services more freely, boosting each other’s bilateral trade, with a target set to reach $100 billion in 5 years.
The wheat imports of the UAE from India are shown in the table below, covering a time period of 10 years, from 2012 to 2021. As we can see in UAE import data, the imports of wheat in the UAE from India increased substantially in the year 2021, showing an increase of 501.2% in 2021 as compared to 2020.
The UAE bans Indian-origin wheat export and re-export for food security, and it will go on for a period of four months, as per the official announcement. In a time of such prevailing food insecurity globally, the countries are taking measures to safeguard their own domestic needs.
