WFP taps India for 200,00 tonnes of rice as global hunger worsens

The World Food Programme has sought 200,000 tonnes of rice for its humanitarian operations from India, the largest exporter of the commodity, amid what it called "catastrophic levels of global food insecurity triggered by the covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war, two people aware of the development said

- Puja Das & Ravi Dutta Mishra

The request comes after the UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal, crucial for the global supply, collapsed last month as Russia withdrew stating the deal no longer justified its humanitarian purpose. Global food prices surged further after India restricted rice exports following Russia's move.

The UN's request is currently a subject of internal review involving the department of commerce, ministry of external affairs, department of revenue, department of food and public distribution and the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

It is expected to be cleared based on the evaluation of the stock position, with one government official pointing out India has never declined a request made by the WFP.