File picture of Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan
| Photo Credit: ANI

Union Minister of Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan welcomed the decision to increase the import duty on edible oils from 0% to 20% and said it was a big move in favour of farmers’ welfare.

In a statement in New Delhi on Saturday (September 14, 2024), the Minister also welcomed the decision to remove minimum export duty on Basmati rice, as well as the increase in basic duty on refined oil to 32.5%, and said such announcements prove that the Narendra Modi government stands for farmers’ welfare.

Mr. Chouhan said if other components are added, the total effective duty on imported edible and refined oils will be 27.5%.

The Minister maintained that with this step, all oilseed farmers, especially soybean and green gram farmers, will get good prices for crops that are about to arrive in the market. The farmers from his home State Madhya Pradesh have been protesting over the low prices for soybean and the Centre had advised the State government to procure soybean at minimum support price.

Mr. Chouhan hoped that sowing of oilseeds will increase in Rabi season and mustard crop will also get good prices. “The production of soya will also increase and it will be exported and along with this, other sectors/areas related to soya will also get benefits,” he said.

He said the Centre is sensitive towards the welfare of farmers and the decision to remove the minimum export duty on Basmati rice is also to help farmers. “With the removal of export duty, Basmati-producing farmers will get a fair price for their produce and it will result in increase in demand for Basmati rice and exports will also increase,” he said.

He said recently, the Centre had reduced the export duty on onion from 40% to 20%. “With the reduction in export duty, onion farmers will get good prices for onions and exports will also increase. This decision of the government will directly benefit onion farmers as well as other related sectors,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry said in a release here on Saturday that the retail sale of onion, at a subsidised rate of ₹35 per kg through outlets and mobile vans of the National Co-operative Consumers’ Federation (NCCF) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED), has helped in controlling retail prices.

The Ministry said it has expanded the retail sale to e-commerce platforms, outlets of Kendriya Bhandar and SAFAL and also adopted bulk sales strategies to ensure availability of onions to the consumers at affordable prices.

“The wholesale disposal, this time, is happening through both road transport as well as railway network. This initiative, besides bringing logistical efficiency, will also reduce post-harvest losses,” the Ministry said.