India’s domestic wheat prices higher than international rates by around $100 per tonne; traders seek subsidy India’s food ministry will oppose a proposal to export wheat as it prefers to distribute the excess to the poor within the country, K.V. Thomas, Union minister of state (independent charge) for consumer affairs, food and public distribution, said on Thursday. “We want the wheat produced by our farmers to be distributed here first,” Thomas said,...
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Poor economics
The embarrassment of riches in grain stocks confronting the government is a problem of its own making. It is the product of ill-conceived policies on grain procurement, storage and distribution and mistimed decisions on opening and shutting of foodgrain exports. The grain stocks that have piled up as a consequence are far more than needed for any rational inventory and public distribution programme. Burgeoning food stocks pose problems of storage...
More »Food subsidy bill shoots up by a whopping of Rs 34,738 cr by Prabha Jagannathan
The Centre's food subsidy bill, incurred mainly on account of reimbursemnet of economic costs to theFood Corporation of India for grain procurement, holding and transportation, has shot up by a whopping Rs 34,738 crore compared to the budgetary allocation for 2011-12. This is mainly due to government buys of a record foodgrain crop in the 2010-11 agricultural year (july-june).The original subsidy for the year was estimated at Rs 47,239.8 crore....
More »When paddy turns poison by Jaideep Hardikar
When he drank poison on January 11, farmer Hargovind Harne’s run-down hut was bursting with freshly harvested paddy. Yet he was neck-deep in debt. Even the bottle of pesticide that he used to take his own life had been bought on credit, as the bill shows. His large stock of grain wasn’t the only puzzle in the 47-year-old’s suicide. Vidarbha is infamous for continuing suicides by cotton farmers but Harne grew food,...
More »India won't consider EU's demand on duty-free wheat import
-PTI To protect farmers' interests, India has made it clear to EU that duty-free imports of wheat, barley, lemons, apples, pears and meslin flour will not be allowed under the proposed free trade agreement (FTA). "The EU has asked for duty elimination on wheat, barely, apple, pear, lemon and meslin flour. We have clearly explained to them that India cannot offer concessions on any of these products," a senior Agriculture Ministry...
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