New Delhi: Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today ruled out any possibility of the government importing rice and said the stocks are more than the buffer norms.
Asked whether the government will import rice this year as production is estimated to dip by 13 million tonnes from last year's levels, Pawar replied in the negative and said "Our stock position is better than over and above the buffer norms and strategic reserves."
He was speaking on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
According to the buffer norms, the Centre should have 118 lakh tonnes of rice as on January 1 every year. The norms for the minimum stock that the government has to maintain are fixed on a quarterly basis.
According to government sources, the Centre had 229 lakh tonnes of rice as on December 1, 2009.
Pawar also said Food Corporation of India (FCI) has sought permission from Uttar Pradesh government to allow it to purchase paddy from the state as there was a complaint that farmers are selling their paddy below the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,000 a quintal (including Rs 50 bonus).
"I am getting complaints that prices are below the MSP. We have to gear up FCI machinery, for which we have requested the state government to allow us to purchase," he said.
He also pointed out that the current low market price of paddy in UP is because "there is no purchasing machinery".
Expressing hope that UP would soon give permission, Pawar said, "once we enter in a big way in the market, prices will improve."
Earlier, the Centre was not expecting any rice purchase from UP as the state was severely affected by drought. Rice procurement in UP has reached 9.01 lakh tonnes as on December 22 compared to 14.44 lakh tonnes int he year-ago period.
Further, paddy procurement in Punjab and Haryana is more than last year, he said.
According to government data, the Centre till December 22 has purchased 110.50 lakh tonnes of rice from both Punjab and Haryana since the procurement for 2009-10 season began in October. It was 94.60 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period last year.
Helped by the higher purchases from these two states, the Centre has been able to procure 145.96 lakh tonnes of rice so far this season compared to 142.49 lakh tonnes in the year ago period.
Rice procurement has also begun in states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal and Kerala.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 19:00