Duty free wheat import only till Dec: Pawar

Farm, allied sector grow 3.9% in 05-06.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today stated that duty-free import of wheat by private trade would not be allowed beyond December-end.

Of the 5.5 million tonnes of wheat contracted for import on the government's account, about 2.6 million tonnes had already arrived and the rest would come soon.

Addressing the Economic Editors' Conference here, Pawar clarified that duty on private wheat import had been waived only till December 31.

He said the agriculture and allied sector had achieved a handsome growth rate of 3.9 per cent in 2005-06, against less than 2 per cent in the past few years.

In the first quarter of 2006-07, the growth had been estimated at 3.4 per cent by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO). The 10th Plan targetted annual growth of 4 per cent in agriculture and allied sector.

Regarding high prices of wheat, the minister said they would drop around April next. He attributed the lower wheat procurement in the last season to allowing, for the first time, private traders to buy wheat directly from farmers and selling it anywhere in the country. "We are happy that this has helped farmers get better prices for their produce."

He hoped that the government would be able to procure more wheat from the next crop, thanks to the highest ever increase of Rs 100 a quintal in its minimum support price. The production of wheat might also set a new record next year because of higher plantings and good weather conditions.

"Already, about 7 lakh hectares of additional area had been brought under wheat in states other than Punjab and Haryana."

The government had formulated an action plan for raising wheat productivity and production by targeting selected districts in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, and West Bengal.

Pawar said the output of cotton grew substantially in the last season because of good rains and expansion of the area under transgenic Bt-cotton.

Farmers, especially in Gujarat, got the maximum prices for their produce last year. Vidarbha cotton-growers, too, reaped a bumper harvest in the last season, receiving good prices.

On agricultural marketing reforms, the minister said most states had amended their agricultural produce marketing laws to allow a greater role for the private sector. The government would encourage contract farming as well.

Referring to the problems faced by farmers in getting bank loans against warehousing receipts, Pawar said a Bill had been introduced in Parliament to facilitate this, but was referred to the standing committee on food, consumer affairs and public distribution for examination.

He announced that the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) had signed a memorandum of understanding with the railway ministry for developing rail-side warehouse complexes at 22 locations all over the country.

The government was examining the feasibility of forming a 100 per cent-owned subsidiary for developing rail-side warehousing complexes.

Regarding the target of doubling agricultural credit, he said the flow of credit to farmers had grown by 34 per cent in 2005-06. For 2006-07, the target had been fixed at Rs 1,75,000 crore.

By September 2006, the actual credit disbursal stood at around Rs 94,345.54 crore, amounting to around 54 per cent of the target. It would be fully achieved by the end of the current rabi season, he claimed.