The price of wheat for bread rose to a new record on Monday. In European trading on the Euronext stock exchange, a ton of wheat cost 435 euros in the morning. The reason is the wheat export ban announced by India on Saturday.

India is the second largest wheat producer in the world – 110 million tons in 2021 – and has large reserves. The government in New Delhi justified the export ban with the effects of the current heat wave on the harvest. The yield estimate for this year has already been revised downwards. The government wants to ensure security of supply in the country.

However, Trade Minister BVR Subrahmanyam emphasized that exports would continue to be permitted with the express permission of the government: “We do not want wheat to be sold unregulated and then either hoarded or not used in the way we hoped: namely the needs of vulnerable states and vulnerable people to alleviate.”

The Ukraine war has led to a shortage of wheat on the world market and thus to sharply rising prices. According to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, 20 million tons of grain are stored in Ukraine, which cannot be exported due to blocked delivery routes and ports. The coming harvest could bring another up to 40 million tons of grain. But the war prevented sowing in many places.