Farmers body seeks reimposition of limit on wheat stock-holding

New Delhi, July 21 (UNI) The Bharat Krishak Samaj(BKS) has urged UPA chairperson Sonia Gnadhi to reimpose restrictions on holding of foodgrain stocks by the trade and multinational companies, since cornering of larger wheat stocks by them, had forced the country to go in for wheat imports after eight years.

In letter to Sonia Gnadhi, BKS chairman Dr Krishan Bir Chaudhary said, ''unwarranted wheat imports and largescale hoarding by corporate houses and MNCs has led to a rise in the prices of essential commodities.'' The meeting of the Congress Working Committee, and the subsequent meeting of the chief ministers of Congress-ruled states on July 5, also sought fixing of norms for stockholding limits for essential commodities under the Essential Commodities Act.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaran who were also present at the meeting, assured that they would consider this matter.

However, unfortunately, the Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry, headed by Mr Sharad Pawar is reluctant to re-impose the norms for stockholding limits for essential commodities, withdrawn by the erstwhile NDA government in February 18, 2002.

Mr Pawar has gone on record saying that he would not re-impose the stockholding limit for essential commodities. The Congress chief ministers have rightly demanded re-imposition of the norms for stockholding limits. It seems that that Mr Pawar is hand-in-glove with market manipulators like big corporate houses and MNCs in food trade, Mr Chaudary alleged.

Not only this, Mr Pawar has openly been pleading for lifting of the ban on sugar exports as decided by the Cabinet Committee on Prices (CCP) and appeasing the industry lobby, which wants to allow exports. He also wants to further liberalise imports which are against the interests of farmers, he said.

The country has no shortage of sugar with a production of 190 lakh tonnes in the current season with the carry over stock of 4 lakh tonnes, while the consumption demand is 180-185 lakh tonnes.

The Minister expressed a desire to liberalise import of sugar by way of reduction in tarrif duty under tarrif rate quota regime, as this would harm the interest of the farmers in the long run.

There is no shortage of any agro commodity in the country, except pulses and oilseeds and hence there is no need for imports of other agro commodities.

To justify the wheat imports, Mr Pawar manupulated data for the production wheat earlier estimated at over 73 million tonnes and later scaled down it to 71.54 million tonne, recently brought down further to 69.48 million tonne, Mr Chaudhary said in a statement.

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