NEW DELHI: India’s wheat exports in 2021 could quadruple from a year ago to the highest level in eight years as a rally in global prices and higher freight costs make Indian wheat lucrative for Asian buyers, two industry officials were quoted by  Reuters recently.

Higher exports would help the world’s second biggest producer bring down record inventories and provide Asian buyers with cheaper supplies amid a rally in global prices due to limited supplies from major exporters such as Russia and Canada.

India’s wheat exports could rise to 4.2 million tonnes this year, the highest since 2013, Nitin Gupta, Vice President at Olam Agro India, told Reuters.

“There is good demand for Indian wheat for human consumption and feed purpose as well,” Gupta said.

In the first eight months of 2021, India’s exports surged 887% from a year ago to 3.07 million tonnes on good demand from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates, according to data compiled by the Commerce Ministry. The bulk of exports last year were in the final four months.

India harvested a record 109.52 million tonnes of wheat in 2021 and state-run agencies are holding a record 51.8 million tonnes, more than double the required buffer norm.