Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Solvent extraction industry in crisis

VIJAYAWADA: The solvent extraction industry is pushed into a near crisis due to inadequate supply of enough husk by the rice mills. This has resulted from, what the sources in the industry describe as, the restrictions imposed by the government on the movement of rice to other States.

However, rice millers claim that this is only a seasonal problem and there will be a solution if the farmers get a good harvest. There are also apprehensions about crop damages in the heavy rains two days ago under the influence of Khai Muk cyclone in the Bay of Bengal.

The solvent extraction industry has been strong in the district with nearly 15 industries actively engaged in production. Of late, the industries are not working to their full capacity due to lack of supply of the raw material.

Andhra Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Malineni Rajaiah says that unless there is enough supply of husk immediately, the solvent industry will have bigger problems in future. Increased imports of edible oil from Malaysia, Indonesia and such countries are also posing a serious problem to the local industry now, he says.

Krishna District Rice Millers Association president P. Veeraiah Chowdary said, there is some delay in the milling season now due to lack of hectic harvesting in the agricultural fields. Moreover, paddy with more moisture content is reaching the mills and this is being rejected. This is a routine problem in times of changes in weather and there would be an effect on the agro-based industries.

Mr. Veeraiah said that after 10 days, there would be clarity about the arrival of paddy and its quality and also the extent of harvest. He added there are 250 rice mills in the district, which participate in the levy of paddy by the Government agencies. Another 50 mills of relatively smaller capacities enter the levy depending on the season.

The Government did not give permits for long to the boiler rice millers, which resulted in stocks piling up at their mills. Though permits were given later, these mills were left with stocks of a value of Rs. 2 crore to Rs. 3 crore. This is expected to create fund-raising problems for these millers to purchase paddy.

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