Chennai: A proposal by the Animal Husbandry Department, functioning under the Ministry of Agriculture, to ban exports of select oilmeals has been withdrawn. This follows the meeting of the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India representatives with the Union Food and Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar.
The Animal Husbandry Department had proposed to the Cabinet to consider ban on oilmeals in view of rising prices of milk, eggs and meat. High prices of oilmeals, linked to exports, were cited as the primary reason for increase in prices of milk, eggs and meat.
The industry representatives, led by the Association of India President, Ashok Sethia, and comprising past presidents, D.P. Khandelia, A.R. Sharma, and its Executive Director, B.V. Mehta, expressed concern over the move. They explained to Pawar that the industry would lose export markets that had been carefully built over the years.
Farmers would equally be affected the move, they said and also pointed out to the fact that nearly 15 lakh tonnes of oils were recovered by the solvent extraction process. Ban on exports would hit processing of oilcakes and rice bran and thus, oil production would go down.
In turn, this would result in higher prices of vegetable oils besides realising lower prices to farmers and discouraging them from cultivating oilseeds, the representatives told Pawar.
The team also urged Pawar to review the decision to ban export of cooking oils since hardly 10,000-15,000 tonnes were being imported. It had no impact on the supply or demand or the price of edible oils. The Minister had assured the representatives that the Centre would re-examine ban on export of oils in small packets.
T. Nandakumar, Secretary of the Department of Food and Public Distribution, was present during the talks, a release from the association said.
The Animal Husbandry Department had proposed to the Cabinet to consider ban on oilmeals in view of rising prices of milk, eggs and meat. High prices of oilmeals, linked to exports, were cited as the primary reason for increase in prices of milk, eggs and meat.
The industry representatives, led by the Association of India President, Ashok Sethia, and comprising past presidents, D.P. Khandelia, A.R. Sharma, and its Executive Director, B.V. Mehta, expressed concern over the move. They explained to Pawar that the industry would lose export markets that had been carefully built over the years.
Farmers would equally be affected the move, they said and also pointed out to the fact that nearly 15 lakh tonnes of oils were recovered by the solvent extraction process. Ban on exports would hit processing of oilcakes and rice bran and thus, oil production would go down.
In turn, this would result in higher prices of vegetable oils besides realising lower prices to farmers and discouraging them from cultivating oilseeds, the representatives told Pawar.
The team also urged Pawar to review the decision to ban export of cooking oils since hardly 10,000-15,000 tonnes were being imported. It had no impact on the supply or demand or the price of edible oils. The Minister had assured the representatives that the Centre would re-examine ban on export of oils in small packets.
T. Nandakumar, Secretary of the Department of Food and Public Distribution, was present during the talks, a release from the association said.
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