The Hindu Business Line : Greens shocked by Pawar's remark

"We are shocked to hear that the Minister for Agriculture has shown eagerness to bring GM oilseeds to India, rather than taking a more cautionary approach. The gross failure on the part of the Government to regulate GM crops - as happened in the case of the Bt Cotton fiasco - makes it clear that the entry of any new GM crops, especially food crops, could prove to be a costly mistake," said Ms Divya Raghunandan, Campaigner of Greenpeace India.

Mr Govindbhai Patel, a Rajkot-based groundnut oil trader, said importing oilseeds will not be financially viable as one will have to pay 30 per cent customs duty, plus freight charges. "There will also be additional logistics cost for exporting the same oil. Such a move will have very little impact on the oil industry," Mr Patel said.

However, Mr Pratap Chandan, Chairman of Federation of Gujarat Edible Oil Merchants Association, a representative body of oil millers and traders, has welcomed Mr Pawar's statement to encourage import of GM seed and high oil content oilseed.

"It is our long-pending demand for allowing oilseed import, replacing edible oil imports. The move to encourage oilseed import will lead to greater employment opportunity in the industry and it will be beneficial to oil trade and industry as well," Mr Chandan said.

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