India, Feb. 1 -- In a meeting of the Committee on Agriculture (CoA) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) - held on October 2, 2023, in Geneva, the European Union (EU) agreed to consider India's demand for a permanent solution to public stock-holding (PSH) program for food security. This is a significant change of stance since March 2023, when the EU along with the USA and Canada had challenged it.

The issue will be taken up for deliberation in the 13th ministerial conference (MC) of the WTO (World Trade Organization), scheduled from February 26-29, 2024 in Abu Dhabi. The MC is the highest decision-making body of the global trade watchdog (read: WTO) that includes 164 member countries.

While, the USA and EU countries want a comprehensiv...