Farm subsidies in China, India, Brazil and Turkey cost U.S. wheat growers nearly $1 billion in revenue annually, says a study commissioned by two U.S. wheat groups. “That’s a huge amount,” said farmer Jason Scott, who chairs U.S. Wheat Associates. The study, by three Iowa State University economists, said U.S. wheat exports would be 52 million bushels a year larger and the farm-gate price of the grain would be 27 cents a bushel higher if domestic supports in the four nations were removed. China and India are two of the world’s largest wheat producers.
Craig Thorn of DTB Associates said that until a decade ago, farm subsidies were negligible in developing countries. There have been significant increases in subsidies by a handful of countries, he said, with wheat output in India and China surging because of supports that guaranteed a minimum price. The wheat groups said farm-subsidy reforms under discussion in the Doha Round of world trade talks call for large cuts by the United States and other industrialized nations, while developing nations “would not be expected to make meaningful contributions.” Brett Blankenship, president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, said: “The American wheat farmer will not give away any more.”