Georgian authoritiesto lift wheat export restrictions early due to reserves

Georgian authorities will lift restrictions on export of wheat in advance due to “two to three months” worth of domestic reserves of wheat and flour and expectation of the next harvest in three months’ time, Agriculture Minister Otar Shamugia said.

Shamugia noted the decision to ban exports of wheat and barley had been made last summer based on “food security threats” and need to serve domestic demand.

He added restrictions on the latter had been removed after a review of the situation several months later, with the most recent analysis allowing the same decision to be made on wheat “in several days’ time”.

The absence of risks to food security now means farms will have the opportunity to sell existing wheat, with the decision of lifting the restriction coming three months ahead of its original projected end in July.