Earlier this month, the government’s food reserve, the state-run granaries, was at a 16-year low. This is because of the extreme weather which has wreaked havoc on crops. Hence, in order to ensure that there is enough food for the people in the country, the government decided to ban the export of food. This ban is likely to continue as officials are focused on refilling the state-run reserves. Here are all of the important details that you would need to know about this update.
India’s Ban On Food Export To Continue As Per Officials
According to an article which was recently published by the Hindustan Times or HT, the agricultural output this year will be plentiful if the weather predictions are to go by. The Indian Meteorological Department or IMD has predicted that monsoon will be above average.
This will lead to a good yield. However, despite the predictions of plenty, the country’s embargo on food export will continue. As per the officials cited in the HT article, the risk of food inflation is still prevalent.
Hence, as an attempt to safeguard against food inflation and to restore the state-run granaries, the government will continue the ban. The officials said on Wednesday that it is to prioritise and cater to domestic consumption.
A Pre-Emptive Measure To Guard Against Food Inflation
Officials also went on to say that the government can only mull over lifting the ban on exports once the food situation within the country improves. This means that only when there are excess stocks which need to be liquidated, the ban can be reviewed.
Over the last two years, extreme weather damaged a lot of crops. State-run granaries had to be utilised. This massively depleted the reserves and the focus is now on refilling them. This will help in safeguarding against food inflation in the future. As per the HT article, even though the wheat harvest has been ample, high-grain inflation has been a problem for over a year now.
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