Govt defends import of wheat from Australia

New Delhi, May 18 (UNI) The government today defended its decision to import wheat from Australia, saying it was necessitated by a shortfall in procurement of the crop and the resultant need to strengthen the buffer stock and protect the interest of both consumers and farmers.

Replying to a short duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar also denied the allegation that farmers were forced to resort to distress selling.

''On the other hand, for the first time this year wheat growers in three important states -- Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh -- were allowed the option to sell their produce both in the government-controlled mandis and to private players,'' Mr Pawar said in his nearly hour-long reply.

''It was because of this factor that the arrival of wheat in mandis was far less than expectation,'' he pointed out.

Peppering his speech with a string of statistics, the minister said the government had initially fixed the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for wheat at Rs 650 per metric tonne, which was later raised to Rs 700 per metric tonne through bonus after private players offered a better remunerative price to farmers.

Private players like Reliance, ITC and Adani Group offered higher prices to wheat growers, he said, forcing the government to announce bonus for the farmers.

''This alone (bonus) has created a burden of Rs 780 crore on the Agriculture Ministry,'' Mr Pawar said. He, however, expressed satisfaction that farmers had, for the first time, become beneficiaries of the new system, unshackling them from the mandatory need to sell wheat in mandis.

He also pointed out that some farmers and traders had kept a stock of wheat with them. ''This can create a situation for exploitation of farmers. This also makes it imperative for the government to strengthen the buffer stock to protect consumers.'' MORE UNI SKS RL HT1858