Food export: World Bank for lifting ban

After the United Nations, the World Bank on Wednesday appealed to the nations to lift trade restrictions on food items even as India called for a global solution to overcome the predicament facing global food exports and imports.

World Bank President Robert B Zoellick in his remarks at the Rome Conference on Food Security pointed out that 28 countries have imposed export bans on food items and stressed 'these restrictions and taxes should be lifted, at a minimum for humanitarian food purchases and transportation by World Food Programme'.

UN Secretary General Bank Ki-moon on Tuesday called upon the countries to resist the temptation to impose ban on export of foodgrain as it would distort market forces and push prices even higher to the detriment of the vulnerable population which have started buying rice by cups instead of bags.

In his response to the issue of export ban, which is being raised frequently at conference, India's Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said, "We need a new global compact between the developed and the developing countries, between the landless and labour surplus economies, between food exporters and food importers."

He hoped that 'resulting declaration and plan of action (to be announced tomorrow) will this resolve' this issue.

India is one of the countries which has imposed a ban on export of non-basmati rice, wheat and other commodities to cool domestic inflation which has soared to a 45-month high of more than 8 per cent.

Trade restrictions, in addition to impact of biofuels on ongoing food crisis, have emerged as the most contentious issue at the Rome Conference which is slated to come out with a final declaration tomorrow. 

World Bank chief Zoellick made a case for an 'international call to remove export bans and restrictions' by pointing out that these controls encourage hoarding, drive prices up and hurt the poorest who are struggling to feed themselves."

Without fast action, Zoellick said, 'this crisis will steal the potential of a generation. In India alone 1.5 million more children are already at risk of malnutrition because of the crisis.'

Pawar, however, stressed that India has been able to manage food security both in terms of availability and price level in a reasonably satisfactory manner.

The endeavour of the country, the minister assured the global community would be to revitalise the agriculture 'to not only produce enough for our growing population and meeting its nutritional requirements but contribute to the global kitty commensurate with our economic and political status'.

Subject to our domestic and international commitments, he said, 'my country will be too happy to work with the world community in addressing these challenges facing us.'

Referring to the Doha Round of negotiations, Pawar said, while India is committed to a successful pro-development conclusion of the negotiations, 'trade liberalisation in agriculture must adequately take into account livelihood and food security concerns of poor and vulnerable farmers in the developing and least developed countries'.