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Tuesday, Jun 30, 2009
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UDF walkout over copra procurement

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) members staged a walkout from the Assembly on Monday accusing the government of having failed in carrying out copra procurement under the minimum support price scheme of the Centre.

The Opposition alleged that despite the Centre offering a record support price of Rs.4,450 a quintal, the government was able to procure only a shade over 4,000 tonnes of copra so far. The government could not procure even 10 per cent of the targeted quantity for want of sufficient infrastructure with the Kerala State Kerala Karshaka Sahakarana Federation (KERAFED), which had been designated by the government as its procurement agency. The collapse of the procurement mechanism had resulted in the price of copra falling to barely Rs. 3 at the producers’ level as against a possible Rs.7 a nut if the procurement scheme had worked well, the Opposition members said.

Rebutting the charge, Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran said the slump in the price of copra had to do more with the liberalised edible oil import regime of the Centre than failure in the procurement programme.

At 4,214 tonnes, the quantity of copra procured this year was higher than that during the last five years and the inability to procure higher quantities was on account of the stipulation that copra with more than 6 per cent moisture content should be rejected.

With the onset of monsoon, moisture content of copra was higher and there were large-scale rejections in Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. The government, he said, had requested the Centre to relax the stipulation regarding moisture content by at least 1 per cent and permit procurement of copra with higher moisture content as second quality copra, he added.

Intervening in the discussion, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said the government would set right any shortcoming on the part of KERAFED in carrying out the procurement programme. The main reason for the price slump was subsidised import of palm oil, but the Opposition was refusing to look at this side of the problem, he said.

Opposition charge

Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy and C.F. Thomas (Kerala Congress-M), who moved the motion seeking adjournment of the House, said there was no basis for the government’s contentions as the problem had more to do with the State’s failure to have a proper procurement plan and mechanism.

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