Farmers Left Out: Wheat Flour Export Ban Lifted Amid Persistent Trade Policy Criticism

KBS Sidhu, a retired IAS officer and former Special Chief Secretary, Government of Punjab, recently spoke out against the Central Government's handling of agricultural trade policy. He pointed to the recent lifting of an export ban on wheat flour as just another instance of farmers being left out of important decisions.

Sidhu noted that restrictions on exports are often imposed without consulting farmers and can result in significant losses for them. According to ICRIER research, such measures cost Indian farmers nearly ₹40,000 crore in 2023 alone.

This is not an isolated incident, Sidhu argued. He cited examples of similar trade policy decisions affecting cotton, sugar, and other commodities, where the government's actions had little impact on farmer prices but resulted in significant costs for them.

Sidhu called for a formal mechanism to estimate the likely impact of such decisions on farm incomes before they are implemented, as well as a way to apportion some of the benefits back to farmers whose price signals were suppressed.