Comments
With the Ukrainian crisis posing a threat to global food security, India is under growing pressure at the WTO to lend its support to exempt foodstuffs purchased for non-commercial humanitarian purposes by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) from export restrictions at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva next month.
“At a special session of the WTO’s Committee on Agriculture on Friday, a waiver to WFP purchases from export bans and restrictions was projected as a low-hanging fruit and a concrete deliverable at MC12. Given the impending global food crisis that could be triggered due to the prolonged war between Ukraine and Russia, the pressure on India and other countries not comfortable with giving commitments in the area is growing,” a Geneva-based trade official told BusinessLine.
In November 2020, Singapore laid out its plan for exempting WFP’s non-commercial purchases for humanitarian purposes from any export restrictions, but India did not support it. New Delhi argued that the export restriction was an important tool to ensure food security within the country and protect the poor. It said it would exempt WFP purchases from export restrictions on a case-by-case basis.
The following month, at the General Council meeting, India’s Ambassador to the WTO pointed out that India had always been proactive in extending food aid to the WFP and vulnerable countries in its immediate and extended neighbourhood in the last five decades. In 2019 alone, the WFP had sourced approximately 11,000 metric tonnes of pulses, sorghum, wheat, and rice from India to assist vulnerable populations, he said. Moreover, India has not ever denied food aid to the WFP.
“Despite India’s arguments against a commitment on exempting WFP purchases from export restrictions, the voices seeking one, led by developed nations such as the US and Canada, as well as some food importing economies, is growing louder. Almost 80 countries signed a statement last year at the WTO pledging that they won’t impose export restrictions on WFP purchases as it was important to deal with the Covid-19 crisis and other calamities. Now that the Ukrainian crisis is threatening food security, their arguments favouring an exemption have intensified,” the official said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.