The World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is looking into resolving WTO rules that are making it difficult for India to export food grains to meet shortages in other countries, caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The difficulties, the Minister said, included WTO rules around the export of food by a country that had also procured food on a Minimum Support Price basis.
“Countries like India, which can probably supply [food grains] are facing difficulties with WTO,” Ms. Sitharaman told reporters on Friday, April 22, 2022, the final full day of her visit to Washington DC for the World Bank/ International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings.
At the IMF Plenary meeting on Thursday, Ms. Okonjo-Iweala had said that the WTO was “looking at it [ food export issues] positively” , as per the Finance Minister, who expressed optimism that the issue could be resolved.
