India Is Challenged At WTO Over Rice And Wheat Subsidies

1. India Is Challenged At WTO Over Rice And Wheat Subsidies India Is Challenged At WTO Over Rice And Wheat Subsidies Located in Asia, India is the second largest rice and wheat producer in the world. The Asian nation enjoys bumper rice and wheat harvest every year and this explains why India is the largest Rice Exporter globally. Talking of wheat, India as a wheat exporter account for a meager 1% of the total global wheat trade as most of the wheat produced is domestically consumed. However, Indian wheat gained significance last year in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war and the Asian nation exported volumes of wheat to meet global demand. India’s record shipments of rice and wheat have been criticized by some of the world’s agricultural powerhouses and they have accused the Asian nation of providing subsidies beyond its commitment which has in turn motivated Indian farmers to plant more crops and has resulted in a fall in global prices. Complaints Against India’s Farm Subsidies Complaints Against India’s Farm Subsidies On the 6th of April, 2023, some of the world’s agriculture powerhouses including Australia, Canada, Paraguay, Thailand, Ukraine, and the United States accused India of violating world trade rules by providing exorbitant subsidies to its rice and wheat farmers.

2. Despite agreeing to limit its market support price to 10% of the value of the crops, subsidies for wheat were 81% while that for rice in 2020/21 was 94% according to the counter-notification. Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas said that this is a far cry from the level playing field our farmers were promised and deserve and is the reason why we need to push forward with a formal complaint against India with the WTO. Counter Counter- -Notification’s Statements Notification’s Statements As per the counter-notification filed by some of the world’s agriculture powerhouses, India was accused of providing significant market price support, both in absolute value and percentage value for promoting domestic production of rice and wheat. For the seven-year period mentioned in the document, India’s subsidy levels rose steadily from the 2014/15 marketing year through 2020/21 with rice subsidies totaling 3.18 trillion rupees and wheat subsidies totaling 1.7 trillion rupees. The six complaining countries also cited that they used data publicly available to arrive at these figures of financial support and assistance provided for India’s rice and wheat growers. The Bottom Line The Bottom Line India is the second largest rice and wheat producer in the world and the Asian nation ranks first in terms of rice exports. However, India as a wheat exporter accounts for a meager 1% of the global wheat trade. Despite this, India’s wheat exports surged to record volumes in the event of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. India’s growing shipments of rice and wheat have come under scrutiny and on Thursday, agriculture powerhouses including Australia, Canada, Paraguay, Thailand, Ukraine, and the United States have criticized India’s lavish subsidies to domestic rice and wheat farmers that have hurt farmers throughout the world. This is the latest in years of complaints against India’s farm subsidies. If you are a Rice Exporter or a Wheat Exporter looking to export bulk rice/bulk wheat or are a rice importer/ wheat importer looking to import bulk rice/ import bulk wheat, then Tradologie.com is the platform for you. Tradologie has over 600,000 verified buyers and 70,000+ verified suppliers in its network and through the platform, you can connect and conduct bulk trade of food and agro- commodities with ease. To register as a seller, click here. To register as a buyer, click here. To stay updated with the recent happenings of the agro-trade industry, do follow Tradologie across all social media channels.