India is planning to take appropriate steps to become the world’s largest wheat exporter in the context of the situation around Ukraine. This was announced today, March 16, by TASS with reference to the Mint newspaper.

According to the publication, New Delhi wants to take advantage of the situation in which wheat importers are fighting for supplies, while the two biggest exporters – Russia and Ukraine – are in conflict.

According to the newspaper, the measures that India will take in the near future include government-certified laboratories urgently starting to check the quality of exported wheat, port authorities prioritizing exports of wheat and to provide additional railway cars to transport grain.

According to published information, the administration of the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi aims to help producers export better quality grain to show global buyers that India can guarantee a stable supply of high-protein wheat. The government selected 213 labs to test the quality of wheat for export, and also asked the State Bureau of Standards to control the quality.

It is reported that last week, the head of the department of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Sudhanshu Pandeya said India is expected to export 7 million tonnes of wheat in the current fiscal year (ending March 31), which will be a record. The previous record was recorded in the 2012-2013 financial year, when India shipped 6.5 million tonnes of wheat for export. Traders say India’s wheat exports are rising amid a large number of inquiries from buyers looking for alternatives to supplies from Russia and Ukraine.