Days after Food Minister K V Thomas said his department would not have any objection to opening up grain exports after a gap of more than three years, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar reaffirmed his position taken in May wherein he said the ministry won’t push for foodgrains export in view of the proposed National Food Security Bill.
“We are not in a position to push for export of foodgrains, because we are waiting for the proposed National Food Security Bill, which is likely to come up in Parliament,” Pawar told reporters when asked about his views on the export policy of foodgrains.
In May too, Pawar, who till then was steadfastly opposing continuance of the ban on export of wheat and rice, had for the first time changed his stand and said exports should be allowed only if sufficient grains were available to meet the requirement under the proposed food security Law.
Till then, the farm minister had been strongly in favour of opening up exports on the grounds it was hurting the interest of the farmers.
Recently, the food ministry has moved a proposal to export three million tonnes of wheat and non-basmati rice. The proposal is likely to be discussed at the meeting of an empowered group of ministries (EGoM) on July 11.
Pawar further said the policy on export of foodgrains would hinge on the quantum and price of foodgrains that would be provided under the Food Bill.
More From This Section
The draft National Food Security Bill, which aims to give a legal right over subsidised foodgrains to the poor, would also be discussed at the forthcoming EGoM meeting.
The food ministry has suggested to cover 75 per cent of the country's population under the proposed Bill. Foodgrains' demand is estimated at 65 million tonnes (mt).
Currently, the government godowns are overflowing with over 65 mt of foodgrains, while the storage capacity is only 62.23 mt.
Asked if there could be any impact of below normal monsoon on agricultural output, Pawar said it was too early to say as sowing operations in the kharif season continue till third week of August.
However, there would not be any problem in farm output if rains are good in July, he said, adding rains in June were up 11 per cent in the country except certain parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The agriculture ministry has pegged total foodgrain output at 245 mt for the 2011-12 crop year, as against 235.88 mt last year.
Yesterday, Agriculture Secretary P K Basu told reporters that forecast of below normal monsoon would not have any impact of farm production in 2011-2012 because showers in June had been good.
“Moreover, our water level in major reservoirs have been more than normal and eastern India has got good initial rains, which should aid in paddy production,” Basu said.