Untimely rainfall and hailstorms have battered winter-sown crops, including wheat, rapeseed, and chickpeas in India's main producing areas

India has allowed wheat shipments of 469,202 tonnes since banning most exports last month, but at least 1.7 million tonnes is lying at ports and could be damaged by looming monsoon rains, government and industry officials told Reuters.

India is likely to approve the export of one million tonnes of wheat with half of it to Bangladesh, for the first time since imposing restriction on supplies of the food grain abroad.