Alleges that trade bodies like SEA, IOPEPC give unrealistic crop estimates.
Saurashtra Oil Millers Association (SOMA), at its annual general meeting (AGM) held recently, has accepted that several millers are engaged in manipulative activities in edible oils. Some of the millers are mixing groundnut oils and this has tarnished the image of edible oil industry of Gujarat, informed SOMA officials.
The industry body also blamed some national level trade bodies of giving unrealistic forecasts with regard to groundnut production. "Some of our millers are mixing in groundnut oil and it has hurt the image of the overall industry. Everybody knew about this but no one has come forward to stop it. We must do something on the issue, otherwise the condition can become worse and it will be a loss to the industry," said newly elected SOMA president, Samir Shah.
Shah also maintained that trade bodies like Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) and Indian Oilseed and Produce Export Promotion Council (IOPEPC) have given unrealistic groundnut production estimates for Gujarat. "These figures are not acceptable and are influenced by some multinational companies. It will manipulate the groundnut and edible oil market," said Shah.
SOMA has predicted 1.5-1.6 million tonnes of groundnut crop in the state, lower by 200,000 tonnes compared to 1.8 million tonnes reported last year. In response to SOMA’s allegations of unrealistic estimates of groundnut production, an official from IOPEPC informed, "Before we predict any figure, we do deep research work and examined the ground reality. All the activity has been done by the students of Junagadh Agriculture University. They have done good work on groundnut crop."
According to IOPEPC, recently government has announced groundnut crop estimate around 2.7 million tones, which is higher than it's prediction. Rajesh Bheda, president, IOPEPC refused to comment on SOMA's allegations. "Whatever figures we have given are authentic and IOPEPC is not partial for anyone," he said. While SEA has estimated 1.77 million tonnes of groundnut crop in Gujarat, IOPEPC, at its AGM held in Pune, has given the crop estimate of about 2.5-2.6 million tonnes in state. "Other trade bodies have given a groundnut production estimate that is higher and misleading to the market and damages farmers’ pockets. Their figures are only for the benefit of exporters and traders," said Mukund Shah, past president of SOMA.
"We are worried about the groundnut production that is reducing every year. Main reason behind this fall is that farmers are getting lower returns than other crops like cotton. We will encourage farmers to grow more groundnut. We must do something to increase groundnut oil use, which has been declining by almost 50 per cent over the last five years," he added.
SOMA has fixed the minimum rate of groundnut at Rs 850 per 10 kg. It has also increased brokerage from Rs 400 to Rs 500 per 10 tonnes.