Govt puts stock limits on onion, potato to curb prices
3 July 2014 5:33 AM IST
The union government on Wednesday put onion and potato under purview of the Essential Commodities Act and imposed stock holding limits in a bid to improve availability and rein in prices, besides raising the minimum export prices (MEP) of onion to $500 per tonne from $300 earlier. State governments will decide on the stock holding limits which will be in operation for the next one year. It will prohibit individuals from storing onion and potato beyond the prescribed ceiling.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), presided over by PM Narendra Modi, which also released additional 50 lakh tonnes of rice through PDS to give relief to poor. The CCEA has decided to bring onion and potato under the purview of the stock holding limits under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. ‘We are giving right to state governments to take stern action against hoarding and black marketing,’ law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Stating that there are complaints that prices are rising despite adequate supply in the country, Prasad said the CCEA discussed the emerging situation ‘seriously’. The CCEA also decided to release 5 million tonnes of additional rice to BPL and APL families through public distribution system (PDS) in those states where food security law is not implemented.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), presided over by PM Narendra Modi, which also released additional 50 lakh tonnes of rice through PDS to give relief to poor. The CCEA has decided to bring onion and potato under the purview of the stock holding limits under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. ‘We are giving right to state governments to take stern action against hoarding and black marketing,’ law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Stating that there are complaints that prices are rising despite adequate supply in the country, Prasad said the CCEA discussed the emerging situation ‘seriously’. The CCEA also decided to release 5 million tonnes of additional rice to BPL and APL families through public distribution system (PDS) in those states where food security law is not implemented.
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