China Backs India's Wheat Export Ban at WTO

China openly backed India at a recent WTO agriculture meeting, where rich nations slammed New Delhi yet again for its wheat export ban. "China's representative said that targeting India was wrong, especially since the goal of New Delhi's wheat export regulation was also to ensure that it could continue to supply countries and neighbours with which it had signed agreements," as per a Geneva-based trade official.

Beijing chastised countries such as the United Kingdom, which suggested again this week at the WTO Committee on Agriculture meeting that the wheat export ban was the primary cause of the global price spike. "China chastised countries that it claimed did nothing to stop global market speculation and instead blamed countries like India,” the source said.

Following concerns that the wheat crop would be harmed by an unseasonal heat wave, India imposed a ban on wheat exports to cool rising domestic prices and ensure adequate supplies in the country.

Members such as the United States, the European Union, Japan, Paraguay, and Brazil had previously stated that global wheat prices rose by 6% on the first day of trading on the Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures following India's announcement of a wheat export ban on May 13.

India maintained that it was not a significant wheat exporter and that the ban had no significant impact on global prices.

Expressing disappointment that the recent WTO Ministerial Conference failed to deliver much on agricultural liberalization, the United States, Australia, and Japan supported the idea of a retreat in September to give the elections a fresh start.

According to the source, India warned against trashing the Ministerial and Bali mandates on public stockholding and a special safeguard mechanism for developing countries. India said it would be a step back if members talked about building on previous work while throwing the mandates of the Bali and Nairobi ministerial decisions out the window.

"India stated that certain moral preaching nations should stop looking for scapegoats for the failure of negotiations." It stated that developing countries had learned enough to protect their own interests and could see through sermons with hidden agendas that were detrimental to their interests," the source added.