The war conflict in Ukraine threatens the stability of the global grain market. Ukraine is one of the largest grain exporters, but due to the ongoing fighting, the harvest this year and next year is expected to be significantly lower.
India can at least partially compensate for the shortfall in Ukrainian grain supplies to the European or world market. The world’s second most populous country exported a record seven million tonnes of grain last fiscal year. In April alone, India’s cereal exports stood at 1.4 million tonnes, compared to just under 243,000 tonnes in the same month last year.
Increase in grain exports
“In May, Indian grain exports may increase to as much as 1.5 million tonnes,” a dealer with a multinational agricultural trading company told Reuters. Indian grain supplies are satiating demand mainly from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, where grain from Ukraine in particular has been going.
Cereals are getting more expensive
The growing demand for grain, or rather the lack of it on the global market, is also driving up grain prices. These have increased by more than 40 per cent year-on-year, but are almost double compared to 2020.
