WTO meet in June: India may not favour relief to food purchase under WFP

India is unlikely to back exemptions from export restrictions to food purchased for humanitarian purposes by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) at a key World Trade Organisation meeting next month.

A group of 80 nations, including 80 developed countries such as Japan, the United States, the European Union and Singapore, do not want export restrictions on food purchased for non-commercial purposes by WFP. They are also seeking an outcome on the issue of putting out an advance notification of export restrictive measures at the WTO.

Government officials said India may not agree with the proposal as it will restrict its policy space to deal with domestic food security concerns. They also said India has been a significant contributor to the WFP over the years and has lent extensive support, especially to neighbouring countries with food supplies. WFP is the United Nations agency that looks to deliver food assistance to nations in emergencies.

“Whenever they (WFP) have asked for help for procurement from India, we have given them. Blanket export restriction only for WFP is only tokenism… Problems faced by WFP are related to funding and not procurement,” one of the officials cited above said.

“India is against taking any binding commitment under the WTO to provide blanket exemptions from export curbs for food purchases by the WFP as it would restrict India’s policy space to provide food grains on government-to-government basis to other needy and neighbouring countries,” the official said.

India also wants the WTO to allow exports of foodgrains from public stocks for international food aid and for humanitarian purposes, especially on a government-to-government basis. Existing WTO rules do not allow member countries to export subsidised foodgrains to the world market, as it may distort global food prices. India believes an exception needs to be made amid the current food crisis emanating from the Russia-Ukraine war.

The discussions are expected to gather pace at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) that is scheduled to be held from June 12-15 in Geneva, Switzerland, after a gap of more than four years.

Priorities for outcomes at the conference include WTO’s response to the pandemic that will include the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights issue, fisheries subsidies negotiations, agriculture issues, including public stockholding for food security, WTO reforms, and e-commerce.