Janayugom Webdesk
New Delhi
July 16, 2022
With the addition of Covid, heat waves, floods, droughts and the Russia-Ukraine war, it is reported that the world is heading towards a food crisis. According to a report published in ‘One Earth’, food insecurity in many countries may worsen this year. The United Nations and the World Bank had earlier pointed out that the global hunger rate surpassed the record of 20 in 2021.
More than half of the world’s food insecure people live in conflict-prone areas. Migration and displacement caused by political instability, terrorism, civil unrest and armed conflict will be the biggest threat to global food security in the next 20 years, according to a study led by the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Luca Rousseau, chief analyst of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), stated last month that although there is currently no shortage, a food crisis is imminent. He pointed out that this will be most reflected in countries including India and 2023 could be a very dangerous year. The Ukraine-Russia war worsened the situation. Although there is no shortage of food, prices are rising. He also said that one of the reasons was the increase in prices including fuel.
As a result of the war, more than 20 countries, including India, imposed restrictions on food exports. India banned exports of wheat in May and wheat products in June within weeks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurances that the world would be supplied with food supplies if allowed by the World Trade Organization. Exports of palm oil were subsequently banned by Indonesia, the largest producer. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also came forward with a warning that the world is heading for a food crisis as the war has disrupted grain imports from the agricultural country of Ukraine.
More than 10 countries have demanded wheat from India following the crisis. Food Minister Piyush Goyal had said that despite the ban, wheat will be distributed to friendly countries facing food crisis. The wheat supplied by India shall be used only for domestic purposes and not for trade or export. Union Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said that such a requirement is due to the fact that wheat is being exported from the countries of Bangladesh, Oman, UAE and Afghanistan.
The country’s food stock is in critical condition
Indications are that the grain stock in the country is at a 15-year low and per capita stock is at a 50-year low. FCI stockpiles 3.11 crore tonnes of wheat till the end of June. It was 3.78, 3.67 and 3.51 crore tonnes in 2019, 20 and 21 respectively. Meanwhile, FCI sources say that there is 76 lakh tonnes more than the mandatory (buffer stock) and there is nothing to fear.
But the BJP-ruled states of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have written to the Center asking for more wheat. The wheat-rice ration of some states was reduced from 60:40 to 40:60 on May 14 and from 75:25 to 60:40 in some states on May 14, with wheat stocks at a three-year low.
The central government has imposed export restrictions on products including atta, flour and semolina due to shortage in wheat stocks. According to central government sources, the restrictions were due to high free distribution through public distribution centers and a drop in production due to unfavorable weather.
Gain in rice exports
According to a report released this month by the United States Department of Agriculture, global rice trade will be a record 54.3 million tons. Out of this, India’s export share is 22 million. This is 41 percent of global exports.
The USDA also stated that India’s rice exports this year are likely to exceed the combined exports of the next three largest exporters, Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan. India has been the world’s largest exporter of rice for the past decade.
English Summary:Food crisis looms; Global hunger rates are soaring
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