Rules block India’s efforts: WTO to help untie wheat export knot

World Trade Organization (WTO) director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is looking ‘positively’ at resolving the issue that is hampering India’s bid to ship out wheat from state granaries to other countries that are facing a shortage caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said in Washington. The WTO rules make it difficult for a country to export grains from official stocks if these have been procured from producers at a fixed price (minimum support price, in India’s case), instead of market rates.Of course, exports by private traders who buy grains from farmers at market rates are not impacted by the WTO norm. There are already signs of increased purchases of wheat by private traders, given the lucrative export markets. Recently, PM Modi, in his talks with US President Joe Biden, offered to supply grains to other countries that are facing a food shortage should WTO norms allow it.

Sitharaman, who has been in the US since Monday to attend the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, said: “…I have voiced that countries like India that have potential for supplying agricultural produce, particularly cereals, have faced difficulties with the WTO.” She said the WTO DG, who also attended the IMF’s plenary meeting on Thursday, said the multilateral body was looking at the issue ‘positively’.

Tags: export, wheat, India