FCI should procure food grains to control inflation: AIKS

Vijayawada, May 31 (UNI) All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) Vice-president K Nageswara Rao today demanded that Food Corporation of India (FCI) should procure food grains to control inflation and supply it through fair price shops.

Addressing a press conference here, he condemned the insinuation given by Mr Subash Gangopadhya, advisor to Finance Miniser P Chidambaram that the Centre should remove restrictions on the supply of foodgrains between the states for controlling inflation.

He said if restrictions on the supply of foodgrains were lifted, traders would export foodgrains to other states for better price and that would create scarcity and price hike.

The procurement of 20.7 lakh tonnes of wheat by the FCI was encouraging, he said, adding that the Centre had also taken various measure for reducing cess on import of edible oils.

Instead of depending on import of edible oils, the Centre should provide necessary subsidies and remunerative prices for the farmers, he said.

To avert the increase of prices of food grains in the country due to rising of oil prices in the international markets, the Centre should decrease taxes levying on the oil, he added.

He also urged the Andhra Pradesh Government to distribute essential commodities on 50 per cent subsidy.

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