EGoM Meet Thursday on Agri Export Policy: Pawar.

New Delhi: The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on food is scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss the overall export policy and prices of farm items such as sugar and onion, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said Wednesday.
 
"The EGoM meeting is scheduled for Thursday and the subject is about price of some of the foodgrains items, policy towards exports. They have not mentioned in particular about sugar or onion," Pawar told reporters on the sidelines of the Economic Editors' Conference here.
 
"There is no specific proposal or note from the Food Ministry. I think there will be a general discussion.
Probably, the EGoM may suggest the Food Ministry to come up with specific proposals in the next meeting," he said.
     
He said the government's decision on exports should not "distort international prices".
 
On sugar front, Pawar said there is "scope for exports" as production would be higher than demand in 2011-12 marketing year (October-September). However, he favoured exports in tranches of small quantities, saying "too much quantity should not be allowed so that global prices decline".
 
"I think exports in one-go will create a problem. Farmers will not get the better price and it will affect the international market. I don't want to take any decision which will affect the global market".
 
The minister observed that whenever India enters the global market to export, prices fall and when the country decides to import, the global prices increases.
     
With estimates of bumper sugar production, the industry has been demanding that the government should allow exports of about four million tonnes of sweetener in the 2011-12.
 
In the 2010-11 marketing year, the government had allowed exports of 2.6 million tonnes, out of which 1.5 million tonnes was permitted in three equal tranches.
 
Sugar production of India, the world's second largest producer and biggest consumer, is estimated at 24.6 million tonnes in 2011-12, according to food ministry's projection.
 
However, the industry has pegged the output at 26 million tonnes as against the domestic demand of 22 million tonne.
 
Besides sugar, the onion farmers in the major producing states of Maharashtra and Karnataka are demanding that minimum export price (MEP) of onion should be cut from the current USD 475/tonne to boost exports and check falling domestic prices.
 
Pawar said that he has received demand for some sort of export assistance to boost onion shipments.
     
In September, the government had allowed export of wheat and non-basmati rice under the open general licence category in view of bumper production and crunch of storage space.

Source : zeenews.india.com