It only took 24 hours last month for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in India — the world's second-largest producer of wheat — to shelve its plans to "feed the world."
In April, Modi had said publicly that the world's most populous democracy was ready to fill part of the gap left by Ukraine in global grains markets by increasing its wheat exports, following five consecutive record harvests. India traditionally exports only a modest amount of wheat, retaining most of its crop for domestic consumption.
On May 12, India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry said it was preparing to send delegations to nine countries to export a record 10 million metric tons of wheat this fiscal year — sharply up the previous season.