(a) Whether various State Governments have refused to take the delivery of Palm Oil from
the godowns of the Union Government;
(
(b) if so, the details thereof;; and
(c) the losses suffered by the Union Government on this account during 1998-99;
(d) whether the Government have imported Palm Oil despite such an adverse situation; and
(e) if so, the reasons therefore?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
(SHRI V. SREENIVASA PRASAD)
(a),(b) & (c) : As a result of a consistent downward trend in the prices of edible oils in the international as well as domestic markets and the consequent availability of cheaper edible oils in the open market in the country, the lifting of allocated quantities of imported RBD Palmolein for Public Distribution System (PDS) by States/UTs has been low in the past months. An amount of Rs.105 crores was paid to the State Trading Corporation of India, which is the sole canalising agency for Government imports, for reimbursement of losses in its trading operations during 1998-99 on Government account.
(d) & (e) To service, the PDS, the Government is importing edible oils in view of the
(i) persistent gap between demand and domestic availability of edible oils and
(ii) need to
ensure availability of edible oils at affordable rates to the consumekrs.