Andhra Pradesh - Eluru   

State urged to lift curbs on export of rice

ELURU: The millers and farmer representatives on Thursday urged the State government to lift the curbs on movement of rice for sale outside the State. They made a joint appeal to this effect at a meeting convened by Joint Collector T.K. Sri Devi with the millers, representatives from the peasant organisations and Civil Supplies department authorities with an endeavour to ensure minimum support price for paddy.

Maganti Sitarama Swamy of the Andhra Pradesh Rytanga Samakhya said the farmers would get a fair deal while disposing their stocks if the curbs imposed by the government on export of rice were lifted at a time when the rains played havoc with the paddy produce in the district.

He demanded the MSP for the discoloured and sprouting produce on account of rains beyond the specifications designed by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and for the paddy of fair quality the price much above the MSP. Mr. Sitarama Swamy expressed his serious concern over the delay in opening of paddy procurement centres by the Civil Supplies department and the Indira Kranti Padham (IKP) groups for paddy procurement.

The administration was failing to keep pace with the speed at which the produce, harvested and threshed by machines kept pouring into the market in terms of opening of procurement points.

Bollimunta Ramu, a miller, said it was possible for the millers to pay more than the MSP only when the administration accorded them permits for movement of paddy to the outside states by trucks for sale. M.V. Suryanarayana Raju of the Krishna Godavari Delta Parirakshana Samithi appealed to the district administration to seek permission from the State government in favour of exporting rice with the condition that the whole discoloured paddy be lifted by the millers without any objections.

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