Abu Dhabi: a comment Ambassador of Thailand WTO Pimchanok Wankorpon Pitfield accused India of using ‘subsidized’ rice purchased from India. public distribution system To capture the export market, the government lodged strong protests and Indian negotiators refused to participate in some deliberations in the groups where a representative from the Southeast Asian country is present.
The Thai ambassador’s comments during a consultation meeting on Tuesday were welcomed by some representatives of rich countries, irking the Indian delegation here.

Thailand is seen standing in the way of others, including the US, EU, Canada and Australia, which have blocked a permanent solution to public stockholding for more than a decade.

Officials said a strong protest has been lodged with the Thai government and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal raised the matter with USTR Catherine Tai and EU Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrowski, making it clear that the language and behavior is unacceptable.

Government officials told TOI that the Thai ambassador had all the facts wrong, as the government purchases only 40% of the produce to meet food security obligations. A part of the remaining quantity, which is not purchased by government agencies, is exported from India at market price.

‘Terms of trade favor rich countries’
In recent years, the share of Indian rice in the global market has increased and recent export restrictions have angered Western countries. Developed countries are trying to present a picture that India is distorting global trade by selling subsidized food grains in the international market, which was not true.
On the contrary, officials pointed out that the rules were designed in such a way that the terms of trade favored rich countries and the reference price for calculating subsidies was fixed at 1986–88 levels. This means that any price offered above Rs 3.20 per kg will be treated as subsidy.
According to the “flawed formula”, India violates the prescribed limit of 10% of the value of production in the case of rice, but it cannot be dragged to the WTO for violation of global rules as member nations are protected from any dispute until the new formula. Had agreed to escape. Has been implemented. But that was more than a decade ago and rich countries have refused to address what India considers the most serious issue facing poor and developing countries.

The US and the EU are now looking to link the solution to the problem with major reform of global agricultural trade, including reducing subsidies and import tariffs. Given the current global dynamics and domestic political situation, no country – especially the EU – is willing to discuss reducing import duties, resulting in a situation where public stockholdings have been frozen for two years. Has been put in the bag.
“After Covid, countries have realized that food security is equivalent to national security. This needs attention before anything else. “The kind of language coming from some countries here is unacceptable,” an Indian negotiator told TOI.