No farm issues until food stocks issue is resolved: India before WTO talks
NEW DELHI : India will not negotiate on any farm issue at the World Trade Organization (WTO) until the body finds a permanent solution to the issue of public stocks of foodgrains, a government official said, signalling a hardening of position ahead of the world body’s next ministerial meeting. India wants the matter settled as it prepares for the WTO’s 13th ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi from 26-29 February. The ‘ministerial’ is the highest decision-making forum at the 164-member rule-setting body.
The public stocks issue goes to the heart of India’s food distribution system. Wealthy nations claim Indian subsidies—in the form of minimum support prices for farmers and free food for the poor—breach WTO subsidy thresholds. New Delhi says these subsidies are necessary in an overwhelmingly agrarian society and a country with a large number of people living in poverty.
According to the government official cited above, India will also try to negotiate for a better understanding of issues related to export of agricultural products, saying New Delhi has the support of 80 countries, including African nations. Besides public stockholding for food grains, WTO members, particularly developed countries, want India to provide information on export restrictions in advance, which the official argued is not possible. “We do notify it, but there are some countries who don’t even issue notifications about export bans," the official said, adding that a 30-day prior notification is “not feasible".
“The public stockpiling of food grain is the longest pending issue. The promise was made by the members in Bali ministerial and then later endorsed by subsequent conferences. Without that, we will not take part in any discussion on any other issue
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