'No ceiling for grain purchase under MSP plan'

NEW DELHI: THE government has ruled out putting a cap on the procurement of foodgrains under the minimum support price (MSP).
“There is no plan to put a quantitative restriction on rice and wheat procurement. The government will continue with the existing dispensation till a National Foodgrain Policy (NFP) is prepared,� public distribution minister Shanta Kumar said.
The government’s procurement operations have become difficult to manage with annual purchase crossing 40 million tonnes and more than 80 per cent of it restricted to Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh. This has led to speculations over restriction on procurement.
However, the minister said offtake has also kept pace with procurement and increased to 30 million tonnes last year from 17.8 million tonnes in 2000-01.
He said the high level committee (HLC) on foodgrains is expected to submit its report any time and it remains to be seen what will be its recommendations.
Based on the HLC’s suggestions and other inputs, government will draft a national food policy which will then be placed before the Cabinet for approval. Rather than putting a quantitative ceiling on procurement, government is currently trying to ensure that the benefit of the scheme goes to the farmers rather than the middlemen, the minister said.
He pointed out towards cases last year when there was distress sale by farmers in Uttar Pradesh at a measly Rs 3000 a tonne and the traders who purchased the produce in turn sold it to the government in Haryana at the MSP of Rs 6,100 per tonne.