'Body blow to Kerala farmers'

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remark that India will show the necessary flexibility on talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) is worrying farmers in Kerala.

India had yesterday offered to bring down the import duty on crude palm oil from 80 per cent to 50 per cent, on refined palm oil from 90 per cent to 60 per cent, on tea and coffee from 100 per cent to 50 per cent and on pepper from 70 per cent to 50 per cent.

Kerala's Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac said the move might benefit the country as a whole but one should not lose sight of the regional perspective. "The body blow would be huge. The farm sector is likely to be hit hard," he said.

"Such a situation calls for a mechanism on the part of the Centre to ensure that farmers in different regions, including Kerala, are not made to suffer," Isaac said, adding the state would oppose any proposal that puts pressure on the farmers.

He said Kerala's plantations were seeing low output and diminishing stocks. "The Centre should see to it that the replantation of these crops is prioritised. Unless the produce from our farm sector is made competitive, things are not expected to change," he added.

Meanwhile, CP John, former Planning Board member and senior leader of the Communist Marxist Party (CMP), which is a United Democratic Front (UDF) ally, reacted strongly. "This is going to be worse than the WTO agreement," he said.

"What would be good for the North-Eastern states or Maharasthra would be bad for Kerala. Such agreements will bring in more regional imbalances," he said.

He suggested massive replantation till 2018, the year the duty cuts could come into force. "We could also try switching over to organic farming in case of tea, coffee and pepper," he added.

Meanwhile, Jojan of the Spices Exporters Association ruled out any impact of any reduction in tariffs. "The deadline is far off and we do not need to be wary of things that will happen after that," he said.