Amid diplomatic row, India steps up supply of essential commodities to Maldives

India on Friday (April 5) removed export curbs on certain commodities for Maldives in the current fiscal year.

In a notification, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said these exports have been permitted to Maldives under the bilateral trade agreement between countries during 2024-25.

Which are the items?

"Export of eggs, potatoes, onions, rice, wheat flour, sugar, dal, stone aggregate and river sand has been permitted to the Maldives... The export of these items to Maldives will be exempted from any existing or future restriction/prohibition on export," the DGFT said.

In general, there is either a restriction or prohibition on exports of these goods.

The specified quantity allowed includes potatoes (21,513.08 tonnes), onions (35,749.13 tonnes), rice (1,24,218.36 tonnes), wheat flour (1,09,162.96 tonnes), sugar (64,494.33 tonnes), dal (224.48 tonnes), stone aggregate (one million tonnes) and river sand (one million tonnes).

It said that for the exports of river sand and stone aggregate, CAPEXIL (a body to promote the export of chemical and allied products) will ensure that the suppliers/extractors have obtained appropriate clearances and mining of the sand is not undertaken in the coastal regulation zone area, which is prohibited under the coastal regulation zone notification.

What Indian High Commissioner said

Exporters have to obtain necessary environmental clearances from the designated nodal authority of respective state governments from where sand is obtained.

Through a post on social media platform X (Twitter), the Indian High Commissioner said that this was being done "under a unique bilateral mechanism" under which the quotas for each of these items have been revised upwards.

"The approved quantities are the highest since this arrangement came into effect in 1981," the notice by the mission said.

The announcement comes amid a diplomatic row between the two countries since November last year when President Mohamed Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took the oath, and within hours demanded India to repatriate its 88 military personnel from his country.

The relations further deteriorated when three Maldivian officials made crass comments after Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted photos and videos of the Lakshadweep Islands, resulting in a heavy backlash from Indians, including many celebrities. #BoycottMaldives campaign resulted in a significant decline in Indian tourists to the island nation too.

The 1981 India and Maldives trade agreement provides for the export of essential commodities.

"India emerged as Maldives’ second largest trade partner in 2022 and the largest in 2023. Indian imports from the Maldives primarily comprise scrap metals, while Indian exports to the Maldives include a variety of engineering and industrial products like drugs and pharmaceuticals, radar apparatus, rock boulders, aggregates, cement and agricultural produce, such as rice, spices, fruits, vegetables and poultry produce etc," the notice said.

According to Friday’s announcement, there has also been an increase of 5 per cent in the quotas for eggs, potatoes, onions, sugar, rice, wheat flour and dal (pulses).

'India remains strongly committed'

Last year too, India continued the export of rice, sugar and onions to the Maldives despite a worldwide ban on export of these items from India.

"India remains strongly committed to supporting human-centric development in the Maldives, as part of its Neighbourhood First policy," it noted.

The quota for river sand and stone aggregates, crucial items for the booming construction industry in the Maldives, has been increased by 25 per cent to 10,00,000 MT each, it added.

Surrounded by the ocean, the islands in the Maldives and the many atolls don’t have enough river sand to support their construction industry, hence the need for importing sand and stone aggregates to the country.

The bilateral trade between the two countries has increased to $973.37 million in 2022-23 from about $740 million in 2021-22.