Exports of certain commodities to Maldives exempted from restrictions in 2019-20

Exports of specified quantity of essential commodities to Maldives have been exempted from any kind of domestic restrictions or prohibition in the current fiscal, according to an official notification issued Tuesday.

"Export of potatoes, onion, rice, wheat flour, sugar, dal and eggs has been permitted to Maldives under bilateral trade agreement between India and Maldives during the period 2019-20 with effect from April," directorate general of foreign trade said.

It said that the export of these items to Maldives will be exempted from any existing or future restrictions/prohibition.

The fixed quantity for potatoes, onion, rice, wheat flour, sugar, dal and eggs are 15,492.36 MT (metric tonne), 25,744.26 MT, 89,454.22 MT, 78,612.26 MT, 46,444.74 MT, 161.65 MT and about 30.79 crore, respectively, it said.

The specified quantity this fiscal is much more than that of 2018-19.

The fixed quantity in 2018-19 for potatoes, onion, rice, wheat flour, sugar, dal and eggs were 5,308.7 MT, 9892.03 MT, 946.21 MT, 338.47 MT, 31.59 MT, and about 11.2 crore, respectively.

The bilateral trade between the two countries increased to USD 222.68 million in 2017-18 from USD 206.97 million in the previous fiscal.

Last year, there were reports from a section of the media that India had lowered the limits on the export of certain essential commodities such as potatoes and onions to Maldives.

But India had dubbed those reports as "misleading". It had stated that requirements were calculated based on actual utilisation in the recent past and were consistent with the trade agreement between the two sides.

India's ties with Maldives nose-dived after it had criticised the Abdulla Yameen government for imposing a 45-day emergency in the archipelago nation earlier in 2018.