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India May Import Wheat in Blow to Modi Goal of Feeding World
- The second-biggest grower has already restricted wheat exports
- Surging domestic grain prices stoke concern about inflation
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi boldly declared that his country was ready to “feed the world” after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Less than four months later, the government needs to consider grain imports.
Even before Modi made his pledge, a record-breaking heat wave that started in March was threatening Indian wheat output. That cut production and pushed up local prices, making everyday life more expensive for hundreds of millions of Indians that use the grain to make staple foods like naan and chappatis.