India to lift food export ban once supplies improve

Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar has said the restrictions imposed on export of major food-grain were not permanent and the government could lift the ban once the supply situation improves.

Rome: Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar has said the restrictions imposed on export of major food-grain were not permanent and the government could lift the ban once the supply situation improves.

"I am confident that prices will go down and in such a situation we don't want to continue with these types of restrictions," Pawar told journalists when asked about the demand being raised by world leaders on lifting export ban.
"Generally we are also not very much against that what they are saying. We have taken certain decisions where there is a tremendous shortage like pulses or edible oil in India. But whenever we will improve production, we don't want to continue that," he added.

The government has banned export of various commodities like wheat, non-basmati rice, pulses and imposed duty on export of basmati rice in a bid to check inflation which has increased to 45-month high of 8.24 per cent.
Though Pawar broadly agreed to the suggestions of the world leaders including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to lift export ban, but pointed out that India had imposed the restrictions to protect the poor people in the country.

"Even today quite a bit of population live below poverty line and we have to protect the interest of vulnerable section of society and for that purpose we have to keep the availability in the open market and also with the government. In such situation, we have to take certain decisions but these decisions are not on permanent basis," he added.
Pawar represented India at Rome Conference, organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), to chalk out a strategy to deal with the soaring commodity prices and minimise the impact of poor people of the world. (PTI)

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