Mishra Rules Out Hike In Support Price For Wheat

Agriculture minister Chaturanan Mishra yesterday told the Lok Sabha that a further increase in wheat procurement price would push domestic prices higher than international prices, paving the way for dumping of wheat in India. This would be ruinous for the countrys agriculture, he said, while replying to supplementaries during question hour.

Mishra said his ministry was also opposed to relaxation of quantitative restrictions on agricultural imports, as it would hurt the interest of local farmers. However, he admitted that pressure was building up on the country to lift these curbs, in keeping with World Trade Organisation (WTO) norms.

The minister was responding to requests by several legislators, from different parties, to concede the farmers demand for a

 

higher wheat support price. The members said it was unfair to deny a better price to local producers when wheat was being imported at a higher cost from abroad.

Mishra pointed out that the government had already raised the support price by an unprecedented Rs 95 per quintal by providing a bonus of Rs 60 per quintal. The effective cost of wheat, including mandi charges and other post-procurement expenses, now comes to around Rs 785 a quintal, while the landed cost of imported wheat is estimated at Rs 805 a quintal, he said.

However, Akali leader Surjit Singh Barnala questioned the logic of taking post-procurement expenses into account while comparing international and domestic prices.