NEW DELHI, July 10. /TASS/. The extension of the grain deal is important for India as New Delhi may need to import wheat this year, Editor-in-Chief of the Indian magazine ruralvoice.in Harvir Singh told TASS.

"It (grain deal - TASS) is very important for India. This year, despite the Indian government's record wheat production, claim prices of wheat are firming up <…> If the grain deal ends it will be a reason for a price increase in the global market. <…> Suppose India needs to import wheat to cool down domestic prices this scenario will go against India," the expert said.

Despite the fact that wheat prices were very low in the past few months public stock of wheat in India has reached its lowest level in almost a decade, he noted. "If the deal continues it may further cool down global prices. It will be good for India as it may require to import some wheat at a lower duty. Industry has already started making demand to government to allow wheat import," Singh said.

On July 22, 2022, a package of documents on the supply of food and fertilizers to the international market was signed in Istanbul. Initially, the agreements were concluded for 120 days, in November of last year they were extended for the same period. On March 18, 2023, Russia announced a 60-day extension of the deal, warning that this would be enough time to evaluate the implementation of the memorandum signed with the UN. On May 18, the grain deal was extended for another two months until July 17.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier that the extension of the grain deal was out of the question unless the Russian package of the Istanbul agreements was enforced, adding that the deal was still being implemented only regarding the supply of Ukrainian grain.