Mumbai, Sept. 2 The Government plans to meet the short fall in kharif crop through imports may turn out to be a costly affair with prices of agriculture commodity rising sharply.
The weakest monsoon in last seven years resulted in the Government declaring 278 districts of the total 626 drought-hit this year, damaging the prospects of many kharif crops, including sugar cane, cotton and pulses.
Pulses on fire
With the retail prices of commodities soaring, the Government announced plans to import 4 million tonnes (mt) of pulses and about 2.4 mt of raw sugar in 2009-10.
Import cost of tur has jumped 37 per cent to $1,250 a tonne in August from Rs 910 a tonne in July. In the last two months, urad price rose to $815 a tonne from $750 a tonne, while channa moved up to $575 a tonne ($450 a tonne).
Domestic tur prices have surged over 50 per cent in the last two months to hit Rs 90-100 a kg in spot trade. Chana, that follows other pulses, has jumped 4 per cent to Rs 2,407 a quintal in Mumbai.
Mr K.C. Bhartiya, President, Pulses Importers Association of India, said the very thought of India entering the global market to compensate the fall in output has set the prices of pulses soaring.
"The Government should extend the import sops offered to public sector companies such as State Trading Corporation, Mines and Mineral Trading Corporation and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation to private importers so that there is price parity and availability of the commodity increases," he added.
Though the area under pulses' cultivation has gone up substantially, lack of adequate rain may hamper yields. However, the revival of monsoon in the last few days in parts of Maharashtra, the major belt for pulses, may improve output.
Sugar Soars
The country's sugar output is set to decline 44 per cent to 14.8 million tonnes this year. Major sugar companies have signed up to import large quantity of sugar.
Till August-end sugar companies have contracted to import 6,00,000 tonnes of white sugar, of which 1,98,000 tonnes of the sweetener has arrived in the ports.
Bajaj Hindustan has contracted to import seven lakh tonnes of raw sugar this year and Balrampur Chini Mills will import about one lakh tonnes.
Edible Oil Boils
India, the largest importer of edible oil after China, is expected to import eight million tonnes of edible oils by October end. The Government last year scrapped import duty on crude edible oils to contain soaring price.
"Edible oil imports have already gone up by about 66 per cent to about 6.1 million tonnes so far this season (November-October), amid indications that the overseas purchase would remain robust, on the back of drought hitting the prospects of summer-sown oilseed crops," said an analyst.
Over 40 per cent of annual domestic consumption of over 12.5 million tonnes is met through imports.
The possibility of oilseeds production reaching the last year's mark of 28.15 mt as the area under groundnut, a major oilseed crop, declining by close to 10 lakh hectares.
Source : Business Line