Don’t rush into export ‘opportunity’ presented by Russia-Ukraine conflict (Indian Express)

Indian Express published an op-ed by senior research fellow Devesh Roy and Neelkanth Mishra, co-head of Asia Pacific Strategy and India Strategist for Credit Suisse. The op-ed authors write, “India’s prospects for sustained wheat exports are limited. The surplus stocks are a fraction of the quantity exported annually by Russia and Ukraine. India faces strong headwinds to growth from the surge in energy costs due to the Russia-Ukraine clash and the resultant sanctions. The elevated geopolitical uncertainty also threatens global growth, which hurts Indian exports. The authors conclude that rushing into opportunistic export deals would appear to be short-termism and cannot be a strategy for agricultural exports. The solutions require new links, and agreements, looking at opportunity costs of wheat production, market structures within the country, and reducing the risk of frequent policy interventions.