“We encourage countries not to restrict exports, because we believe that any export restrictions will exacerbate food shortages,” Thomas-Greenfield said during a video conference.
This comes after India announced, on Saturday, that it had banned the export of wheat without special government permission, due to the decline in its production due to the heat waves, in a decision that led to an increase in the prices of this basic food commodity to unprecedented levels.
The US ambassador added that “India will be among the countries that will participate in our meeting in the UN Security Council, and we hope that, while listening to the concerns of other countries, it will be able to reconsider the decision to ban the export of wheat.”
The UN Security Council will hold this session under the chairmanship of the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, and the presence of a number of ministers, including the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Vlamvili Muralidaran.
India currently holds a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
India is the second wheat-producing country in the world and has decided to ban the export of this commodity without special permission from the government, to ensure food security for its 1.4 billion people.
In addition to the UN Security Council session, Blinken will chair, while in New York, on Wednesday, another ministerial meeting, also related to food security in the world.
Thomas-Greenfield added that the meeting seeks to determine “which of the countries can help fill the deficit in the global wheat market, resulting from the Russian military operation in Ukraine,” noting that the two parties involved in the war are the main exporters of wheat in the world.
The US ambassador also confirmed that the United States could be one of these countries, and that discussions are already underway with American farmers on this issue.