Hyderabad: Telangana Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has urged the agriculture ministers of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh to jointly press the Centre to safeguard the interests of oil palm farmers by ensuring a minimum support price (MSP) and other policy measures.
Tummala writes to counterparts in southern states
In separate letters addressed to his counterparts on Saturday, the minister said the southern states play a crucial role in achieving India’s edible oil self-sufficiency, but oil palm farmers are facing severe uncertainty due to fluctuating prices of fresh fruit bunches (FFBs), international crude palm oil prices and import duties.
He called on the Union government to take immediate policy decisions to ensure stable incomes for oil palm growers across the country.
Measures proposed
The minister proposed two key measures: restoring the import duty on crude palm oil to 44 percent or fixing a minimum support price of Rs 25,000 per tonne for oil palm fresh fruit bunches.
Tummala said a joint representation by the southern states to Prime Minister Narendra Modi would strengthen the case for these demands and improve the chances of a favourable decision by the Centre.
He stressed that coordinated efforts among the southern states would help protect the interests of oil palm farmers and provide them with greater income security amid market volatility.
