India lifts wheat export ban to ease global supply strain

India just reopened the wheat spigot. The country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued Notification No. 35/2026-27 on August 24, reclassifying wheat and wheat flour exports as “Free,” effectively ending a ban that had been in place since May 2022. For a country that produces north of 110 million metric tonnes of wheat annually, that’s not a minor policy tweak. It’s a recalibration of global grain markets at a moment when supply chains remain fragile from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Why the ban existed in the first place Rewind to May 13, 2022. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had sent commodity prices spiraling, and India’s domestic wheat prices were climbing fast. New Delhi slammed the export door shut to protect its own consumers from the inflationary shock rippling through global food markets. The government began easing restrictions earlier in 2026, authorizing limited exports of 25 lakh metric tonnes (2.5 million metric tonnes) of wheat and 5 lakh metric tonnes of wheat products in January and February. Think of it as dipping a toe in the water before cannonballing back into the export pool. Bumper harvests made the math work India’s agricultural ministry estimat...