Edible oil imports hurting 10 lakh farmers, says Ahmed Patel

Congress leader Ahmed Patel has slammed the Modi government for mounting imports of edible oil, saying while it espoused ‘Make in India’, its policy was piling pressure on 10 lakh farmers engaged in oilseed cultivation.

In a letter to finance minister Arun Jaitley, Patel urged the government to immediately increase the duty on crude and refined vegetable oils.

He said the import of edible oil had increased over 23% in the last 10 months while the import of soyabean oil touched an all-time high in August.

“It is a matter of deep concern that India, which is one of the world’s largest producer of oilseeds, is relying extensively on foreign suppliers to fulfill its demand of edible oil,” Patel said in the letter to Jaitley, adding the policy was posing a “serious challenge to our food and nutritional security”.

He said while imports were mounting, oilseed farmers were bearing the burden of the distortion between production and import. “Over 10 lakh farmers depend on oilseed cultivation and this massive surge in imports has amplified this distress in a drought year. Consequently, prices of oilseeds such as soyabean which also have high drought resistance, are down 20%,” Patel said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Edible-oil-imports-hurting-10-lakh-farmers-says-Ahmed-Patel/articleshow/49005930.cms