Sunday May 13, 02:54 AM
Pawar calls for 2-mt-tonne sugar buffer stock
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By Fe Bureau
The Union agriculture minister, Sharad Pawar on Saturday said some incentives need to be given to the sugar industry, which was facing a difficult situation due to an estimated record production of 26.5 million tonne and consequent fall in prices. "After rendering export subsidy, we feel there is a need to create a buffer stock of 2 million tonne sugar," said Pawar at the sidelines of 78th AGM of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research Society here. He, however, denied that the industry had asked for creation of 5 million tonne buffer stock for sugar. The minister also hinted at the possibility of government importing up to 5 million tonne wheat for maintaining buffer stock. "We have last year's stock of 4.5 million tonne. We have procured so far 9.2 million tonne, and our annual requirement is 1.2 million tonne. So, we have some excess stock of wheat. But to face drought and other natural calamities, there is a need to build up stocks," he said. The State Trading Corporation of India (STC), on behalf of the government, has recently floated a tender for import of one million tonne wheat. The government's decision to import wheat despite a bumper production of about 80 million tonne has been challenged in the Supreme Court by the Navdanya Trust .
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