Imports

The ever-increasing import bill of edible oil has become a chronic problem for India with edible oil being the third largest among imported goods in India, next only to crude oil and gold. There are structural issues in production, productivity, and trade of edible oils. These energy-rich crops are grown in energy-starved conditions where more than 70% of the area under cultivation is rain-fed and often cultivated with low-quality seeds in a fragmented landholding and outdated agri-management practices. It further studies the trade liberalisation measures of a liberal trade policy regime, lower import duties, duty-exemptions under free trade agreements, and changes that India has witnessed in consumption as well as retail of edible oil.

Looking at existing policy instruments and goals, and the economic and social outcomes they promise to deliver, it is argued that majoritarian politics and social and cultural outcomes are not part of fringe thinking. The politics of hate actually works to build a consensus for ruling class economics. It is not surprising, therefore, that the only "nationalist outlook" of our times is to stand firmly behind the policy programme for the global investor.

The new Exim policy will cover five years, making it coterminus with the Tenth Plan. Since the policy is mainly concerned with export trade procedures, it can be argued that a definitive programme of improved procedures for the entire Plan period might be of assistance in achieving the Plan targets of exports. It would, however, be a pity if further improvements were held back, even when they were demonstrably needed, because of the five-year term of the policy.

It is time once again for fresh policy convulsions in the fertiliser sector and for claims and counter-claims by the government and industry. After a break in 2000-01, the government has once again imported 2.2 lakh tonnes of urea in order, it says, to prevent a shortage in the current rabi season. Considering that the total installed capacity of urea in the country is 20.9 mn tonnes, the import of such a small quantity is probably a symbolic gesture to drive home the government’s determination to press ahead with ‘rationalisation’ of prices. In November, the government, in an ‘interim’ decision, notified lower retention prices of urea for 13 manufacturers with retrospective effect from April 2000. This is expected to result in savings of Rs 800 crore in subsidies given to fertiliser units. The government has also drawn up stiff new norms of capacity utilisation and feedstock consumption by fertiliser units based on which retention price will be determined. But a comprehensive long-term policy for the Rs 35,000 crore industry – a key element in the agriculture sector – has yet to materialise.