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G20 Ministers Unite Against Food Weaponization; India Champions Global Food Security
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Moneycontrol•01-10-2026, 20:19
G20 Ministers Unite Against Food Weaponization; India Champions Global Food Security
- •G20 trade ministers reached a consensus against the weaponization of food through coercive trade actions, with India emphasizing that food should not be used as a pressure instrument.
- •Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted India's food security measures and called for a clear distinction between legitimate domestic food availability steps and coercive trade restrictions.
- •Goyal stressed that food security and farmer opportunities are central to India's policy, warning that fertilizer shortages could lead to a food crisis, especially in the Global South.
- •India ensured food security for over 1.4 billion citizens during Covid-19 and supplied foodgrains to needy countries, with over 800 million Indians currently receiving free foodgrains.
- •Goyal defended India's public stockholding and procurement from small farmers, citing WTO decisions and advocating for a fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, and inclusive rules-based multilateral trading system.
Key Questions Answered
G20 trade ministers reached a consensus on a statement against the weaponisation of food through coercive trade actions under the US G20 Presidency.
Piyush Goyal warned that shortages of fertilisers could develop into a global food crisis, which would particularly affect countries in the Global South.
More than 800 million people in India currently receive foodgrains free of cost, building on efforts that ensured food security for over 1.4 billion citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic.
