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| Govt to import food items, says FM |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi Aug 22, 2009, 00:50 IST |
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Already, there is a shortfall of pulses, edible oil
As the prospects of a good agricultural output are turning grimmer due to drought, the government today said it would import those items that would be in short supply to meet the country’s demand.
“A decision is already there that whichever commodity will be in short supply, to maintain the demand-supply mechanism, we shall go for imports,” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said while addressing state agriculture ministers here.
Already, there is a short supply of pulses and edible oil, Mukherjee pointed out. However, he said the government would not announce the timing of imports to ensure that prices were not jacked up artificially by the international players. “The moment news is spread that India is going for big import, the market prices are jacked up,” the minister said.
On the impact of drought, Mukherjee said not only did it affect production, but also it has also had a cascading effect. Scanty rainfall will affect recharge of ground water. He assured that the government had the experience to deal with such situations and “we need not lose confidence in ourselves”. The government will have an estimated 18 million tonnes (mt) of wheat as of April 1, 2010, when the next wheat procurement begins and 13.6 mt of rice as of October 1, 2009, when paddy procurement begins. The huge stocks in the government’s kitty provide comfort even with the prospect of a lower grain output. “We are starting the drought year with good buffer stocks,” Mukherjee said.
The government has seen record grain procurement this year. “In the last five years, substantial increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of grains have been made — almost 150 per cent increase in the last five years. And the country reaped its dividend,” the finance minister said.
Nevertheless, the drought, declared in 246 districts across 10 states so far, has posed tough challenges before the government, as it has “cascading effects”. “Not more than 36 per cent of reservoirs were full till the day before yesterday. Naturally, it will have its impact on the availability of drinking water, apart from irrigation and ... it will have its impact on the generation of hydro electricity. Scanty rainfall will also affect the recharging of the ground water,” he pointed out.
Mukherjee highlighted the need to adopt a "realistic, pragmatic and implementable action plan" to mitigate the impact of drought but also stressed that both the union and the states have to find a way out collectively.
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