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Page added on March 12, 2016
India, Middle East Countries In Talks On Oil-For-Food
India is in talks with some Gulf nations to buy oil to fill its strategic reserves and sell food in return, seeking to use its position as the world’s third-largest oil importer to both secure energy supplies and boost exports.
Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters the idea was still fluid, but New Delhi had held preliminary conversations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, have discussed the issue twice, Pradhan said.
“We are discussing various models,” Pradhan added.
India imports about four-fifths of its oil needs, with bulk of that supplied from the Middle East. A global supply glut has oil-rich countries there struggling to boost sales.
India is also the world’s biggest rice and wheat producer after China and has large stocks of the staples.
Countries in the Middle East import food in large quantities as the region has less arable land and water.
The cost of food imports there could double to $70 billion in 20 years, as climate change hits crop yields and the population rises, an analyst at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas told the Thomson Reuters Foundation last year.
On Feb. 1, rice stocks at the state-run Food Corporation of India were 16.2 million tonnes, against a target of 7.6 million tonnes. Wheat stocks totaled 20.3 million tonnes, higher than the government-set target of 13.8 million.
“They can buy food from here and store in India or in their countries; and we can buy oil from there and store in our strategic storage,” Pradhan said.
Pradhan said such a deal would help Indian farmers secure a new market for their produce, mainly rice and wheat.
The mechanism envisaged by India will be different from the United Nations-designed oil-for-food programme, in which Iraq was allowed between 1996 and 2003 to sell oil in exchange for goods that met basic humanitarian needs, including food and medicines.
Pradhan said India had offered the UAE a part of its Mangalore strategic reserves to store oil. Under the arrangement being proposed by the Indians, the Gulf state would be allowed to use about a third of that oil for trade, while keeping the rest for India to use as strategic reserves.
India will complete the first phase of its strategic reserve to store 39 million barrels by May and later this year begin work on the second phase which will have a capacity to hold 91.6 million barrels, Pradhan said.
13 Comments on "India, Middle East Countries In Talks On Oil-For-Food"
John Kintree on Sat, 12th Mar 2016 10:49 am
The yin and yang of respecting limits and pursuing innovation need to permeate every aspect of modern culture.
Davy on Sat, 12th Mar 2016 11:15 am
At what cost has India become an agricultural exporter? How about the depletion of water resources. How about the small farmers driven from their land. How about the soil erosion. With a population the size of India’s they are only a few bad harvest and economic shocks from food insecurity. Climate change is going to be particularly rough on the Asian subcontinent per forecasts.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-climatechange-idUSBREA2U10I20140331
Truth Has A Liberal Bias on Sat, 12th Mar 2016 8:42 pm
Interesting paradigm shift. Instead of exchanging oil for US dollars the Middle East countries will now exchange oil for rice and wheat.
Practicalmaina on Sat, 12th Mar 2016 9:39 pm
India is an interesting case, it has both the “cleanest and dirtiest” villages and city’s to the best of my knowledge.
They have large areas of complete permeaculture sustainability and at the same time some individuals there (I’m sure either getting a cut or missinformed) are trying to get GMO into the nation’s agriculture. I read about food constraints in some areas and then I see photos of swaths of unused land awaiting power plants or being turned into huge pv farms. In some ways they really get it, in other ways corruption, lack of equal rights for women and the remnants of the caste system still haunt them.
makati1 on Sat, 12th Mar 2016 9:50 pm
“India is also the world’s biggest rice and wheat producer after China and has large stocks of the staples.” One look at it’s climate situation explains the surplus.
US dollars are being pushed out of the equation as they no longer want to pay the exchange rates or to support the USD Empire. Ditto for the ME countries. Direct trade helps both sides and cuts the US out of the loop. This will be more and more the rule, not the exception. Good for them!
GregT on Sat, 12th Mar 2016 10:53 pm
At what cost has the US become an agricultural exporter? How about the depletion of water resources. How about the small farmers driven from their land. How about the soil erosion. With a population the size of the US’s they are only a few bad harvest and economic shocks from food insecurity. Climate change is going to be particularly rough on the North American subcontinent per forecasts.
makati1 on Sat, 12th Mar 2016 10:56 pm
Shhh GregT. Americans are in deep denial about their precarious situation. Too busy pointing fingers at others to see the sad reflection in the mirror. Don’t wake them up. They deserve to die in their sleep.
joe on Sun, 13th Mar 2016 4:51 am
To understand asia and islamic culture in fact most non western culture you must get into your head that they value ‘respect’ more than wealth, life or any other thing. With this in mind they have a system of caste, or social hierarchy where those who dominate get the respect. Universally women have no rights and get the least respect, no matter what level they are on. India is a contradiction only if you believe in social equality and egality between people and human rights. If you think people are born into a life, and they have been put there by God and only God will determine their future including even their sanitation levels and whether or not they eat, also if you dont care who gets justice as long as you do, then its easier to understand how ‘contradictions’ arise. But as long as ‘respect’ is given, they will tolerate anything.
Davy on Sun, 13th Mar 2016 7:40 am
Makatidumb, what is so hilarious about you is your failed message. Reflect on your message from last year or two and see the failure of most of your predictions on Asia, Russia, US, and the dollar. All you offer is the same old redundant criticism. The denial is your refusal to see your own failures.
americandream on Sun, 13th Mar 2016 7:30 pm
joe on Sun
I would venture that your average redneck Xtian American has more in common with his Islamic counterpart (the Abrahamic link and sense of exceptionalism) than ties between Vedic Indians and Islam. You will note that India and China (Daoist/Buddhist) steer a very low profile (violence wise) development model than Islam or the West.
Practicalmaina on Mon, 14th Mar 2016 10:35 am
One thing all of these groups have in common, sexism! Which is why our current world order is one of violence and destruction. Until the people who teach the children are treated with absolute respect, children will not learn real values, and will continue to try and live for power.
americanidiot on Tue, 12th Apr 2016 3:53 am
joe on Sun
You need to worry more about pastors fiddling 5 year old boys in your stupid little cult of rednecks than about Caste system, which has been abolished 70 years ago. I know being ignorant and retarded is in every american’s blood but this is just embarassing.
Davy
You need to worry about US more, california’s summer are getting drier and drier, aren’t americans trying to steal canadian waters now?
http://www.waterwarcrimes.com/the-big-picture—grand-plan-to-steal-canadas-water-resource-wealth—the-traitors-within.html
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/detroit-using-canadian-water-since-1964-1.723593
A retarded american worrying about India’s water resources is quite hilarious to say the least.Get your head out of the ass, it’ll do you some good.
americanidiot on Tue, 12th Apr 2016 3:54 am
Practicalmaina
bullshit, white males are some of the sexist POS I’ve ever encountered in my life.