New Delhi

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that India is willing to step in to mitigate the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine that has led to the emergence of several challenges, including the shortage of food stocks.

Speaking at an international conclave in New Delhi, the minister said, "As I said, one impact of the Ukraine war is energy prices but one sees in terms of food storage and food inflation. India can make difference by stepping in terms of exports of agricultural commodities, especially wheat."

Jaishankar also noted some constraints that India has faced in exports due to WTO limits on trading. "...This (impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict) is a very unusual situation and we hope the WTO can look at it in that manner."

Expressing India's willingness to the address the global food shortages, the minister said, "If we can contribute to alleviating the food shortages whether its government purchases, expanding the market, or helping the World Food Programme, I think this is a very big contribution that we are prepared to make."

His remark came after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India is "carving out" opportunities from challenging situations as the world continues to face hikes in fuel prices and shortage of food grains amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

Addressing a press conference in Washington last week, Sitharaman said that India is trying to find a market for its exports and provide meaningful assistance to end hunger.

The Finance Minister said she voiced her concern that countries like India which have the capacity to address the issue of food shortage have faced difficulties with the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The UN has also stated that an immediate and worrying finding is that food shortages are expected in the coming months.

It further stated that the conflict is likely to severely disrupt production for tens of thousands of small farmers, those who have decided to stay behind in Ukraine.