India Is Pushing the World Toward Another Rice Crisis
With duties, export bans, and other restrictions, New Delhi is harming the same developing nations it claims to want to lead.
A noose around the global rice market.
Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/BloombergThis has been a bad year for food prices in the world’s poorest countries. Whether their citizens eat wheat or rice, three calamities have caused grain supplies to dry up: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its decision to abandon the Black Sea grain initiative; the El Niño weather phenomenon, which has traditionally caused poor harvests across the world; and Indian domestic politics.
Spooked by volatile foodgrain prices ahead of a general election next year, India’s government has banned or taxed exports of most kinds of rice and wheat. While India is a large producer of wheat, it really dominates the rice market: Its exports represent about 40% of the global rice trade.