Five WTO nations allege India provides excessive market support to wheat, rice

Five WTO members - Argentina, Australia, Canada, Ukraine and the US - have alleged that India provides excessive market support to wheat and rice which distorts global trade. In a communication of the World Trade Organization (WTO), these countries claimed that India's apparent MPS (market price support) for rice appears to have been over 87 per cent of the value of production (VoP) in each of the two covered years (2021-23) for which India has notified data to the multi-lateral body. "India appears to be providing significant market price support, both in terms of absolute value and as a percentage of the value of production, for rice and wheat," according to the communication of these countries submitted to the WTO's Committee on Agriculture. An Indian official said that the country will suitably respond to this at a formal forum. The communication said that India's most recent domestic support notification covered more than USD 60.5 billion in "trade-distorting" domestic ...