Wheat rejection by Turkey: Shipment was bought by Netherlands, says Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: A few days after Turkey rejected a consignment of wheat from India citing phytosanitary concerns, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday that an investigation revealed that the exports belonged to Kolkata-based conglomerate ITC and the wheat consignment was actually bought by the Netherlands.

Even the company is surprised as to how the consignment, which was bought by the Netherlands, was given to Turkey, Goyal said, adding that he had full faith in the quality of the export by "such a big company".

While addressing a press conference, the minister said that the consignment was thoroughly checked according to the requirements of the Netherlands.

"ITC had exported wheat according to the destination of the Netherlands. When and how the consignment was diverted; and who did it - ITC has no information about it. I have full faith that the wheat of India is of good quality," the minister said.

However, the minister said that the government will take strict action against exporters who are trying to ship or have shipped wheat by submitting back-dated and improper documents following the ban on exports of the crop.

The government has allowed shipments for exporters who have valid irrevocable letters of credit (LCs) issued on or before May 13.

"Some people have even tried to cheat by making back-dated applications and putting up LCs. The government will come down strongly on anybody who has tried to backdate an LC; who has made an application to allow exports based on documents which are irregular in any form," Goyal said.

Meanwhile, while hailing the wheat export ban move, Korean Ambassador Chang Jae-bok said that the ban is in the interest of India to ensure the availability of wheat for domestic consumption. "As Korea imports a small amount of wheat from India, the country would be least impacted due to the ban," he said during the launch of Korea Fair in India (KFI).

He further said that despite Covid-19 restrictions, bilateral trade between India and South Korea reached the highest ever figure of $23.7 billion in 2021, which is up by 40 per cent as compared to the previous year's total of $16.9 billion.