UN in talks with India on wheat purchase amid global food crisis

United Nations, May 5

The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has said it is in discussions with India on procurement of wheat as countries face food security challenges amid the Ukraine war.

109.59 mn tonnes produced in India in 2020-21

• Earlier this year, India began sending shipments of wheat to Afghanistan
• It has committed to supplying 50,000 tonnes of wheat grain to Afghanistan, which will be delivered through Pakistan’s land route
• It will be delivered to the UN agency World Food Programme for supply to people of Afghanistan

Discussions for procurement under way

The World Food Programme is in discussions with India on procurement of wheat. That is something which is ongoing. Arif Husain, world food programme’s chief economist

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“We are in discussions with India on procurement of wheat. That is something which is ongoing,” World Food Programme’s Chief Economist Arif Husain said at a news conference here on Wednesday.

He was responding to a question on India having a huge surplus of wheat and whether the organisation was doing anything to utilise this stockpile with India as the Russia-Ukraine war exacerbates the global food security situation. To a different question on whether restrictions by the World Trade Organisation over how much India can export should be suspended amid the current emergency, Husain said one of the recommendations, whether it is World Food Programme, IMF, World Bank or even the World Trade Organisation, is about exemption of the World Food Programme from export bans.

He noted that a couple of weeks ago, these organisations encouraged governments not to put export bans which then artificially increased the price and availability or reduced the availability of major staple commodities. “This is a very big recommendation and hopefully, countries are listening,” he said.