West wants to shift the blame of the potential global food crisis to developing countries, says Chinese state media

 

China has taken on the G7 countries for criticising India’s decision to ban wheat exports and has accused the West of wanting to shift the blame of the potential global food crisis to developing economies, including India.

 

'The military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which together account for about 30 per cent of global wheat exports, has sent shock waves to the global market, posing a grave threat to global market food supply. Now, the agriculture ministers from G7 urge India not to ban wheat exports, then why won’t G7 nations themselves move to stabilise food market supply by hiking their exports?,' according to an editorial in Global Times, an arm of the Chinese Communist Party’s flagship newspaper, the People’s Daily.

 

India placed a ban on wheat exports last week on the back of rising domestic prices citing a threat to food security of the nation. The G7 — which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US and the EU — condemned India’s decision and German agriculture minister Cem Ozdemir stated that it 'would worsen the crisis.'

 

'Blaming India won’t solve the food problem, although there is no denying that India’s move to stop its wheat exports may push up wheat prices a little bit. The West just wants to shift the blame to the developing economies, including India,' the editorial said.

 

Food security

In the wake of a looming food crisis, what should the developing economies do to ensure their food security? 'Firstly, each country needs to increase local food production and reduce reliance on imported grain,' it added.

 

How India carried out a ‘surgical strike’ to ban wheat exports

Irrespective of the overall ban on wheat exports, India will allow exports to countries that require wheat for food security needs based on the requests of their governments, according to a notification from the India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

 

Not a key exporter

The Chinese tabloid pointed out that while India was the second-largest wheat producer in the world, it accounted for only a small part of global wheat exports. Some developed economies, including the US, Canada, the EU and Australia, on the other hand, are among major exporters of wheat.

 

'If some Western countries decide to reduce wheat exports in the wake of a potential global food crisis, they will be in no position to criticize India, a country that faces huge pressure to secure its own food supply in order to feed its huge population,' it said.

 

The G7’s performance in the area of stabilising world food supply was lackluster, the editorial noted. 'For instance, the US Department of Agriculture in April reduced its estimate for US exports of wheat for the year 2021-22 to 785 million bushels, the lowest level since 2015-16,' it said.

India on Sunday said it would keep a window open to export wheat to food-deficit countries at the government level despite restrictions announced two days earlier.

 

Commerce Secretary B.V.R. Subrahmanyam told reporters the government will also allow private companies to meet previous commitments to export nearly 4.3 million tons of wheat until July. India exported 1 million tons of wheat in April.

 

India mainly exports wheat to neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

 

A notice in the government gazette by the Directorate of Foreign Trade on Friday said a spike in global prices for wheat was threatening the food security of India and neighboring and vulnerable countries.

 

A key aim of restrictions on exports is to control rising domestic prices. Global wheat prices have risen by more than 40% since the beginning of the year.

 

Before the war, Ukraine and Russia accounted for a third of global wheat and barley exports. Since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion, Ukraine’s ports have been blocked and civilian infrastructure and grain silos have been destroyed.

 

At the same time, India’s own wheat harvest has suffered from a record-shattering heat wave that is stunting production.

 

He said India's wheat production this year has come down by three million tons from 106 million tons last year. Wheat prices have shot up by 20-40% in India.

 

'The current rise in prices seems to be a panic reaction rather than a reaction based on a genuine collapse in supply or a sudden shooting of demand,' Subrahmanyam said.

 

Even though it is the world’s second-largest producer of wheat, India consumes most of the wheat it produces. It had set a goal of exporting 10 million tons of the grain in 2022-23, looking to capitalize on the global disruptions to wheat supplies from the war and find new markets for its wheat in Europe, Africa and Asia.

 

Up to 90 million tons of wheat were consumed in India last year out of a total production of 109 million tons, Subrahmanyam said, adding that India exported 7 million tons of wheat last year.

The Centre has asked wheat producing states and UTs with procurement closing dates expiring early to continue procurement till 31st May, 2022. The Ministry of Food & Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs has also directed FCI to continue with wheat procurement under the central pool. The extended period is expected to benefit farmers. The decision comes in the wake of requests by state governments/UTs to continue the procurement process.

 

Meanwhile, the procurement of wheat under central pool is progressing smoothly in Rabi Marketing Season 2022-23, in the States/UTs of Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Gujarat, Bihar& Rajasthan.

 

The wheat procurement under central pool has been less during ensuing RMS 2022-23 corresponding to previous RMS 2021-22, mainly due to the higher market prices than MSP, wherein farmers have been selling wheat to private traders. The Central government had on 13th May decided to restrict export wheat to rein in high prices of wheat, except in case of irrevocable letter of credit and requests from neighbouring/food-deficit countries. 

 

Upto 14.05.2022, a quantity of 180 LMT (corresponding purchase of 367 LMT during RMS 2021-22) of wheat has been procured, benefiting about 16.83 lakh farmers with MSP value of Rs.36,208 crore.

The directorate general of foreign trade has directed its regional authorities to issue registration of contracts to the wheat exporters who have irrevocable letters of credit, so that they can honour their contracts. The direction came after the government banned wheat exports but allowed the overseas shipments for which irrevocable LoC (Letters of Credit) have been issued on or before May 13.

 

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is an arm of the commerce ministry which deals with exports and imports related matters.

 

'All RA (Regional Authorities) under the DGFT are hereby directed to issue Registration of Contracts (RC) to the exporters of wheat, preferably within a prescribed time limit of 24 hours, on submission of application, complete in all respects, by the exporters,' the DGFT has said in a trade notice.

 

 

It has added that the wheat export on humanitarian ground as aid/assistance/ government-to-government shall be allowed on a case to case basis, with the specific approval of the competent authority.

 

India's wheat exports stood at an all-time high of 7 million tonnes, valuing USD 2.05 billion, in 2021-22 fiscal year on better demand for Indian wheat from overseas. Of the total wheat exports, around 50 per cent of shipments were exported to Bangladesh in the last fiscal.

 

During the current fiscal, as per estimates, 4.3 million tonnes of wheat have been contracted for exports so far.

 

Out of this, 1.2 million tonnes have already been exported in April and May, and another 1.1 million tonnes are expected to be shipped, commerce secretary B V R Subrahmanyam has said.

 

He has said that if an exporter has 'a valid order -- irrevocable letters of credit -- that contract will be honoured. So, India's credibility as a reliable supplier is maintained'.

The commerce ministry has convened an inter-ministerial meeting on May 18 to hold consultations on issues that are likely to figure prominently in the forthcoming meeting of the highest decision-making body of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva next month, an official said.

 

The 12th ministerial conference of the WTO is scheduled from June 12-15 in Geneva. The 164-member multilateral body frames global trade rules and adjudicates trade disputes among member nations.

 

Issues which are expected to figure in the meeting includes a proposed agreement on fisheries subsidies; agriculture; digital trade or e-commerce; WTO's response to pandemic including TRIPS (trade related aspects of intellectual property rights) waiver; Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) matters like trade and gender, trade and MSME; reforms in the WTO like appellate body crisis, special and differential treatment.

 

JSI is a negotiating method started by a certain group of WTO member countries on some specific issues without following the rule of consensus decision-making, which involves all the members of the WTO.

 

Members are negotiating a proposed fisheries subsidies agreement. The objective is to discipline subsidies for sustainable fishing, eliminate IUU (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) fishing subsidies and prohibit them from contributing to overcapacity and overfishing.

 

The official said that secretaries from different departments, including agriculture, environment, consumer affairs, animal husbandry, fisheries, women and child development, MSME, electronics and IT, and pharmaceuticals are expected to participate in the day-long deliberations.

 

Representatives from different bodies such as Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), RIS, NCAER, ICRIER and National Academy of Agricultural Sciences are also invited for the consultations.

 

'This will be a consultation meeting on WTO issues in preparation for the 12th ministerial conference,' the official added.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, while speaking at an Agri-conclave stated that India's agricultural exports have surpassed Rs 4 lakh crore, which is a positive development.

 

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told the media that despite the pandemic, the country's agriculture sector is currently growing at a pace of 3.9 percent. He credited the government of India's agriculture-friendly policies as well as the hard work of the farming community for making this possible.

 

The Union Agriculture Minister, while speaking at an agri-conclave held by a private TV news station in the capital Bhubaneswar yesterday, said that the country's agriculture exports have accomplished great heights despite a global pandemic. 

 

Farmers generated bumper foodgrain crops, while the government procured paddy and wheat crops at record levels, he noted.

 

According to the minister, India's agricultural exports have surpassed Rs 4 lakh crore, which is a positive development. Tomar claims that India is exporting wheat in large quantities as global demand rises due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

 

The minister stated that the administration is dedicated to the development of farmers, rural areas, and industries.

 

Union Agriculture Minister unveils integrated and high-tech online portals for agricultural commodity export and import and pesticide registration in a huge boost to ease of doing business.

 

According to AIR's correspondent, Mr. Tomar emphasized the importance of creating jobs in the agriculture and related industries to absorb the additional personnel, citing the fact that agriculture employs about half of the country's population.

 

He said that, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visionary leadership, the government has been attempting to boost not only agriculture and related sector production but also productivity through higher investment, infrastructure development, and technological intervention.

 

According to the minister, the government has taken a number of initiatives to improve the quality of agricultural products while also providing fair prices for farmers, market access, and export potential for the country's agricultural products.

The Union Minister for Commerce and Industry; Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal held a day-long stakeholder consultation with various sectors of the industry in Mumbai today, on India’s ongoing negotiations on Free Trade Agreements with Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union. The Minister had separate meetings with representatives of automobiles, gem and jewellery, textiles, steel, copper and aluminium sectors. The hybrid interaction had industry leaders and associations attending both in person and online.

 

The Commerce Minister apprised the industry as to how the Agreements that are being negotiated will elevate the overall economic and commercial relations with respective partner countries which in turn will not only benefit bilateral trade but also create new jobs and provide wider social and economic opportunities. Shri Goyal stressed on the potential benefits - both direct and complementary spill-over economic benefits, including increased investment, job creation and employment opportunities.

 

While appreciating the accommodative spirit of the Industry, the Minister urged the industry representatives to continue to support the trade negotiations in the same spirit in the wider interests of the nation, contributing to the holistic development of multi-sectoral economic value chains in the country.

 

The industry representatives thanked the Minister for entering into FTAs with UAE, Australia and other nations, that too at such a fast pace fulfilling a long-lasting dream for many of them. Further, all the stakeholders expressed gratitude to the Minister for taking into consideration concerns of Indian Industry and provided constructive inputs on this matter with a view to ensure overall balance between market access and domestic sensitivities.

CAIRO, May 15 (Reuters) - Egypt's government has agreed to buy half a million tonnes of wheat from India, Egyptian Supply Minister Aly Moselhy told Reuters on Sunday.

 

Egypt, one of the world's biggest wheat importers, is looking for alternatives to Black Sea grain exports which face disruptions caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, both major wheat exporters to Egypt.

 

'We have agreed to buy half a million tonnes from India,' Moselhy said, speaking on the sidelines of a press conference.

 

New Delhi announced a ban on wheat exports on Saturday amid a scorching heat wave that has curtailed domestic production and driven up domestic prices.

 

However, Moselhy said during the press conference the Indian ban would not apply to the deal with Egypt.

 

He also said the Egyptian cabinet had given approval for government purchaser the General Authority for Supply Commodities to circumvent its tender process and purchase wheat directly from countries or companies.

 

Egypt was also in talks with Kazakhstan, France, and Argentina, he said.

 

Egypt has four months' worth of strategic at reserves and six months of vegetable oils, the country's prime minister said earlier in the day.

 

Officials say that following procurement of the ongoing local harvest, Egyptian wheat reserves would be sufficient until the end of the year.

The restriction on export of wheat comes as part of measures to control rising prices

 

Citing threat to food security, the Government has 'prohibited' export of wheat. The decision was taken on Friday, in view of the 'sudden spike in the global prices of wheat arising out of many factors', the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has informed. Significantly, the order came two days after the Government had decided to send trade delegations to a number of countries to explore possibilities of export of wheat. 

 

The global agriculture market has been destabilised by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a major wheat producing nation that is a big supplier to the European market. Apart from national requirements, the order also cited the requirement of India’s wheat among its neighbours in the region.

 

Addressing the media, Sudhanshu Pandey, Secretary, Department of Food and Consumer Affairs, referred to several countries like Russia, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Bulgaria, Turkey and Hungary, which have taken measures to restrict the export of wheat, and indicated that it was natural for India to follow with a similar order.

 

The officials, however, had to face a barrage of questions about the sudden 'U-turn' regarding the export of wheat as the latest order came two days after the Centre announced that trade delegations would be sent to Morocco, Tunisia, Indonesia, Turkey and other countries to explore possibilities for the export of wheat. They denied that the rapid changes in the policy on the export of wheat were because of a lack of coordination. Addressing the issue, Commerce Secretary B.V.R. Subrahmanyam assured that there is no shortage of wheat in the domestic market adding, 'Apart from the food security of India, the government is committed to ensuring food security of neighbours and vulnerable countries.'

 

However, officials revealed that there was a decline in the 'opening stock' compared to the last fiscal. 'This year, our opening stock of wheat was 190 LMT (lakh metric tonnes), which was a little less than last year’s opening balance of 273 LMT,' Mr. Pandey said. Both officials emphasised the prohibition is 'not a ban', and is also aimed at controlling the sudden rise in the price of wheat and atta in India. The order will prevent some traders from carrying out 'speculative' trading in wheat and help in stabilising the agriculture sector, they argued.

 

'We do not want wheat to go in an unregulated manner in places where it might just get either hoarded or it may not serve the purpose of serving the food requirements of vulnerable nations,' Mr. Subrahmanyam said.

 

India is a crucial supplier of wheat to its neighbours. Apart from Afghanistan which recently received large consignments of wheat from India on humanitarian grounds, Bangladesh is another big importer of Indian wheat. India produced around 7 million tonnes of wheat during 2021-’22 and out of that nearly 50% was imported by Bangladesh.

 

The emphasis upon the 'neighbourhood' in the official notification shows that India is aware that shortage of wheat in the domestic market can create hit the neighbouring economies. 

 

Is India facing a wheat crisis?

 

The Ministry’s order however stated that export of wheat will be allowed 'in case of shipments where Irrevocable Letter of Credit (ICLC) has been issued on or before the date of this Notification'. Export will also be allowed on a Government to Government (G2G) basis only after securing the necessary permissions. 

 

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry also placed export of onion seeds under the 'prohibited' category. Both the orders regarding wheat and onion seeds have come into effect immediately. 

Indian Ambassador to Oman Amit Narang has confirmed that India is sending wheat consignments to the country and 'more shipments of wheat will be on their way to Oman soon'. Indian supplies to Oman come even as the Russia-Ukraine conflict has impacted the global supply chain and wheat supply. Both the countries are major exporters of wheat to the international community.

 

 

Speaking to WION's principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, Envoy Narang said, 'as soon as the conflict began we initiated discussion with the Omani side and happy to report already Indian consignments of wheat have reached Oman'. The matter also came up during the discussion between the Indian, and Omani trade ministers during the joint commission meeting on Wednesday.

 

The Indian envoy also said that Oman and India are looking at preferential trade agreements. India was already looking at a comprehensive trade agreement with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, of which Oman is an important member. Here is the detailed interview.

 

WION: What are the key outcomes of the India, Oman joint commission meeting?

 

Amit Narang: The Omani commerce minister is in Delhi, on Wednesday we had a very productive session of the joint commission meeting, chaired on our side by our minister of commerce and industry, Piyush Goyal. Oman is India's most trusted and strategic partner in the Gulf region and this relationship is essentially founded on a trade and investment relationship which has been with us for several decades. We have over 6000 Indian companies invested in Oman, a total investment of over 7.5 billion dollars. On the other side, trade relations are also growing very robustly. We have touched nearly $10 billion of bilateral trade this year. So on the back of these developments, it is very important to have institutional mechanisms meet and meet early, especially after the disruption of the pandemic. Wednesday saw a productive session, a very wide-ranging discussion on a range of topics covering the entire gamut of not just trade and commerce relations but several other fields, including financial and others. Very good outcomes which hopefully will anchor the relationship in the next few years.

 

WION: How does the use of the RuPay card help the diaspora?

 

Amit Narang: Yes, it does, the USP of the RuPay card, is that once you put that in motion it also allows more Indian travelers to come and spend their money for tourism-related purposes. The discussions with the Omani government are ongoing and I can they are at a very advanced stage In principle, there is an acceptance that it will be done.  Some technical level discussions are being sorted out, hopefully, in the next few months, it will be done.

 

WION: On wheat export from India, India is giving wheat consignment to various countries. What has the been conversation like, amid the Russia Ukraine crisis

 

Amit Narang: Look, the conflict in Europe has brought the issue of supply chain disruption in the food sector to light, but even other than that India is the largest exporter of food products to Oman, especially rice. They had a large dependency on Ukraine for Wheat imports and as soon as the conflict began we initiated a discussion with the Omani side and were happy to report already Indian consignments of wheat have reached Oman, to the extent that on Wednesday our minister categorically said that India has committed to Oman's food security and any disruption they may encounter India will be happy to fill in, these details have been shared with them. I am happy and very confident in terms of wheat more and more shipments of wheat will be on their way to Oman soon.

 

WION: On the relationship, we have seen high-level visits. How do you see the relationship going?

 

Amit Narang: The relationship is on an upswing, my sense after going to Oman and having spent 6 months, as both countries are coming out of the pandemic, we are both returning to a high growth trajectory, and based on the historical relationship we have and very strong people to people relation, this relationship is poised to jump to the next level. The last few months, as you have mentioned, has seen a string of ?high-level visits from Oman side and this will continue hopefully and we will ensure all the institutional mechanism to anchor the relationship are taken to fruition. Discussion in the JCM on Wednesday will help us anchor some of the discussions going forward. There has been discussion on looking at a preferential trade agreement, between India and Oman and that should help kick start or rather put the relationship into a different trajectory all together.