NEW DELHI: Relaxing norms, the government on Tuesday said it has decided to allow shipments of the wheat consignments that were registered with the customs authority before the wheat export ban came into force on May 13.
The ban on wheat export has left at least 4,000 trucks carrying the food grain stranded outside Deendayal Port at Kandla in Gujarat for want of permission from authorities to load them into vessels, according to port and industry officials.
"The government has announced some relaxation to its order dated May 13 issued by DGFT on restricting wheat exports," the commerce ministry said.
On May 13, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued a notification banning exports of wheat with immediate effect to control price rise.
"It has been decided that wherever wheat consignments have been handed over to customs for examination and have been registered into their systems on or prior to May 13, such consignments would be allowed to be exported," the commerce ministry said in a statement.
The government has also allowed a wheat consignment headed for Egypt, which was already under loading at the Kandla port, it said.
The relaxation came following a request by the Egyptian government seeking India's permission for the wheat cargo that was being loaded at the Kandla port.
Mera International India Pvt Ltd, the company engaged in export of the wheat to Egypt, had also given a representation for completion of loading of 61,500 MT of wheat of which 44,340 MT had already been loaded and only 17,160 MT was left to be loaded, it added.
The government decided to permit the full consignment of 61,500 MT and allowed it to sail from Kandla to Egypt, the ministry said.
The government had earlier restricted wheat exports to manage the overall food security situation in India and to support the needs of neighbouring and vulnerable countries that have been adversely affected by the sudden changes in the global market for wheat and became unable to access adequate wheat supplies.
As per the order issued on May 13, the restrictions would not apply in cases where prior commitments have been made by private traders through Letter of Credit as well as in situations where permission is granted by the government to other countries to meet their food security needs and on the requests of their governments.
From the Deendayal Port in Kutch district, wheat is primarily transported to African countries, Bangladesh, South Korea and Yemen.
"Around 4,000 trucks carrying wheat from Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra and some other states are parked outside the Kandla port since the last three to four days, awaiting loading due to uncertainty caused by the sudden ban on export by the Centre," said Teja Kangad, president of the local Gandhidham Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Compounding the problem was the extended three-day holiday at the DGFT on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, due to which four vessels berthed at the port to export wheat were left awaiting additional permission from the DGFT for customs clearance after the export ban notification, he said.
"We believe that nearly 20-25 lakh tonnes of wheat has been lying at the Kandla port godowns, complex and trucks and vessels awaiting clearance," Kangad said.
Of the four vessels berthed at the port, one, called 'Mana', was granted permission on Tuesday to load the remaining 17,160 tonnes of wheat and allowed to sail to its destination in Egypt.
The three other vessels are still stuck awaiting clearance from the authorities to load the remaining wheat and sail to their respective destinations, the Deendayal Port administration's spokesperson Om Prakash Dadlani said.
"The approvals for the remaining three vessels are in process and will be completed in time," he said.
"Wherever wheat consignments have been handed over to customs for examination and have been registered into their systems on or prior to May 13, such consignments shall also be allowed to be exported...," the DGFT said in a trade notice.
The DGFT notice said that exporters may apply for registration certificate by navigating through the directorate's website.
"No manual submission of application is allowed for registration of ICLC," it said.
