Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Sep 04, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Sep 04, 2004 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Oilseeds & Edible Oil Industry & Economy - Industry Associations SOPA urges Centre to restrain oil cos from hiking hexane price Our Bureau
Chennai , Sept. 3 THE Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA) has urged the Union Government to restrain oil companies from hiking the prices of food grade hexane, used in processing oilseeds. In a letter to the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, the association said any hike in hexane prices would result in higher input costs, thus placing farmers and the processing industry at a disadvantage. ``Even a small increase in the cost of inputs is likely to offset the advantages of the soyameal at the global market,'' said Mr Rajesh Agarwal, Chairman, SOPA, in his letter also sent to the Union Minister of Commerce, Mr Kamal Nath, and Union Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Sharad Pawar. In the recent Budget, the Union Government had slashed the excise duty on food grade hexane from 32 per cent to 16 per cent. In the new sowing season, the acreage of soyabean has gone up to 74.5 lakh hectares compared to 64.5 lakh hectares last year, ``owing to the good prices that the farmers got for last year's produce,'' Mr Agarwal said. Considering the size of the expected crop, soyabean processing was likely to continue at a good pace in the coming season and hence the Centre should advise the oil companies to keep hexane from the purview of any price increase, he added.
More Stories on : Oilseeds & Edible Oil | Industry Associations
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