The Hindu : Price stabilisation fund for plantation sector soon

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 10, 2002

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Price stabilisation fund for plantation sector soon

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 9. The Government today said the price stabilisation fund for the plantation sector would soon be operationalised to mitigate the sufferings of the workers in the sector.

Replying to a calling attention motion in the Rajya Sabha on the crisis in the sector, particularly tea, coffee and rubber, the Commerce Minister, Arun Shourie, said the operational modalities of the scheme had been worked out by an inter-ministerial committee and the scheme would be soon put into operation.

Mr. Shourie said a committee appointed to survey the closure of tea gardens had been asked to complete its work within 15 days so that a package for revival could be worked out.

The prices of commodities in the international markets were generally depressed, he said, adding that this had had its effect on these commodities produced and exported by India. He said one of the factors that caused a fall in international prices was that the demand had not kept pace with the supply.

The Minister denied charges that increasing import of tea from Sri Lanka under the bilateral free trade agreement went against the interest of the domestic tea growers.

Only a portion of the quota set apart under the agreement was imported and that 95 per cent of this was re-exported.

Referring to the international prices of tea, coffee and natural rubber, he said, they had declined over the past few years.

The tea prices fell after touching a peak in 1997, the coffee prices had been affected most since 2000 and in the case of rubber, the situation had started improving from the middle of this year, both in the domestic and international markets, although the international situation was `extremely unfavourable' over the last four years.

Mr. Shourie said the continuous fall in the prices of tea and coffee, coupled with high cost of production, had adversely affected the economy of the plantations, resulting in some tea and coffee plantations being abandoned or under lock-out in Kerala, West Bengal and Assam.

Assuring the members that the Centre was alive to the problems of in respect of these commodities, he said it had taken a number of steps in each segment to deal with the current price situation.

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