The Solvent Extractors Association of India has asked the ministry not to implement the Kelkar Committee recommendation to impose excise duty and vanaspati fearing an increase in the prices for the consumers, as a part of pre-budget demands.
Implementing the Kelkar committee recommendations will increase the end cost of the product, thereby affecting consumers and will also affect the realisation to farmers for their produce, discouraging them from growing more oilseeds, said SEAI.
The stable tariff structure on edible oils since the budget of 2001-2002 has proved beneficial and led to an equilibrium amongst different segments of the sector. The interest of every group including farmers had been protected. SEAI said status quo on tariff would act as incentive to domestic players to increase local production.
SEAI has requested the government to take up promotional activity so that more farmers grew oilseeds and reduced the dependence on imports.
SEAI has asked for restructuring of Technical Mission for Oilseeds and Pulses for which a core group has been set in conjunction with the agriculture ministry. Strategic initiatives for increasing oilseeds production with sharper focus on exploitation of rice bran oil were necessary.
"More attention should be given to the collection of tree-growing oilseed and value addition of such products to raise production to at least 400,000 tonnes of oil from present level of 1 lakh tonnes by 2006-07," said SEAI.
It has asked for an 'Oilseed Development Fund' to encourage farmers to shift from grain to oilseeds. The fund would also help in increasing productivity in area under oilseeds besides providing soft loans for oilseeds and oil processing technology upgradation.
The associations have asked permission to allow import of sunflower seeds, stating, "It would not pose any risks at home because these are not used for sowing and it's a non genetically modified organism."