The Hindu Business Line : Marketfed to buy pepper until price tops Rs 75/kg

THE Kerala Cooperative Marketing Federation (Marketfed) is ready to procure all the pepper produced in the State, if required, according to Mr P.P. Thankachan, Chairman, Marketfed.

Speaking at a press conference here, he said that Marketfed would continue to procure pepper till the commodity's price stabilises at Rs 75 per kg.

Marketfed, which has been entrusted with the responsibility of implementing the State Government's pepper procurement scheme, would do its best to streamline the procurement process, he added.

Dismissing reports that Marketfed did not have the required funds to implement the pepper procurement process, Mr Thankachan said money was not a constraint. The State Cooperative Bank had already advanced Rs 5 crore to Marketfed to finance the process. The bank also said it would provide more funds, if necessary, for this purpose, he added.

Mr Thankachan added that reports that pepper imports would derail the procurement process are false. Over the last two months, approximately 800 tonnes of pepper has been imported.

Of this, some 500 tonnes had been exported as value-added products, leaving only 300 tonnes for the domestic market, he said. Against these imports, the total demand for pepper in India was 50,000 tonnes a year, he explained.

Marketfed had also made it clear that pepper procured through this scheme would not be sold in the domestic market for a three-month period, said Mr Thankachan. The plan was to export all the pepper obtained through the procurement process, he added.

As the procurement scheme was only for small farmers — those with less than two hectares of land — the Government had to introduce measures to ensure that people with large farms do not misuse the scheme, Mr Thankachan said. However, following complaints that the procurement process was too complicated and required too much paperwork, it has been simplified, he added.

Now, farmers who want to participate in the scheme can register by producing any document that proves they cultivate less than two hectares of land, Mr Thankachan said. Documents such as title deeds and land tax receipts will be accepted, he said.

For farmers without such documents, the concerned agricultural officers will inspect the farm and then issue the required certificate, he added.

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