Minister hold talks with counterparts from Brazil, US, UK and Poland in Milwaukee
Countries of the Global South are among the most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertiliser crises caused by global conflicts, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has told the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hosted under the United States G20 Presidency.
“Today’s fertiliser shortage could become tomorrow’s food crisis,” he said at a session on food and trade, calling on the Ministers to ensure ensuring food security for all.
Furthermore, he wants to see greater opportunities created for farmers who are central to India’s policy. “Food must never be used as an instrument of pressure against any country,” Goyal said.
Goyal said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, India ensured food security for over 1.4 billion citizens and supplied foodgrains to several countries in need. He noted that over 800 million people in India are currently being provided foodgrains free of cost.
The Minister said that India maintains public stockholding, procures from small and marginal farmers and, in the event of a harvest shortfall, adopts temporary and transparent measures to ensure the availability and affordability of food.
He said these measures are recognised under the WTO, including through the Bali Ministerial Decision and the Geneva Ministerial Declaration. He called for a clear distinction between measures taken to ensure food security and coercive trade actions.
Goyal also referred to existing mechanisms, including the G20 Agricultural Market Information System, established in 2011, and the exemption of purchases by the World Food Programme from export restrictions, adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO. He reaffirmed India’s commitment to a rules-based, fair, non-discriminatory, equitable, transparent, open, inclusive and multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core.
The Ministers reached consensus on the outcome document, ‘G20 Statement on the Weaponization of Food through Coercive Trade Actions’, and expressed their intent to continue cooperation on the subject.
On the sidelines of the Meeting, Goyal held bilateral meetings with the Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services and the Foreign Minister of Brazil; the United States Trade Representative; the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and President of the Board of Trade of the United Kingdom; the Secretary of Economy of Mexico; and the Minister of Finance and Economy of Poland, according to a Ministry of Commerce and Industry quoted Goyal release on 1 Oct. Fiinews.com
