Farmers protest against lowering of import duties

Farmers on Wednesday took out a march to the Parliament against lowering of import duties on farm produces to augment free trade agreements.

New Delhi, May 16 : Farmers on Wednesday took out a march to the Parliament against lowering of import duties on farm produces to augment free trade agreements.

Farmers' holding coconuts, arecanuts, vanilla plants and rubber sheets said lowering of duty on import of cash crops would hit them badly.

"We want to urge the government to change the import-export policy in such a way that the import duty on spices and other agricultural produces are hiked. In fact there is a move to reduce them at the time of Free Trade Agreements... This should not occur. We want this to be discussed with the farmers we have this to be discussed in the Parliament and also the legislature," said, P.C. Thomas, M.P. from Kerala.

The Centre is mulling over reduction of import duties on several farm produces, including natural rubber, as part of negotiations for free trade agreement with several ASEAN member-nations.

The rubber growers in Kerala are worried, if customs duty were lowered on natural rubber to boost two-way trade with countries like Thailand, it would lead to a surge in imports, and slide in demand for domestic produce.

India is world's fourth largest producer of natural rubber with output touching 853,000 tonnes in the last fiscal year, up by 6.3 percent from 802,625 tonnes in the previous year, according to the state-run Rubber Board.

Tyre makers said they planned to import some natural rubber this financial year to ensure adequate supplies and keep a check on domestic prices.

Domestic consumption, mainly by tyre makers, was 820,000 tonnes in 2005/06, about 2.4 percent higher than a year earlier, it said.

ANI