The Hindu Business Line : ‘Raise import tariff on tapioca starch’

Coimbatore, Feb. 12 The Salem-based United Farmers Association has said import of tapioca starch continues to hurt the domestic tuber growers and starch producers, despite the Centre imposing safeguard duty.

The association felt the safeguard duty failed to check imports as it was extended only to tapioca starch; whereas import of modified starch was not brought under the levy. There is no mechanism to find out the extent of import of starch taking place in the garb of modified starch, it said.

The association’s President, Mr Vaiyapuri, in a representation to the Centre, has said there is a need for the Centre to undertake an appraisal on the effect of the safeguard duty mechanism as imports of tapioca starch continued unabated and it has affected both the growers and the domestic industry.

One of the reasons for the growing imports is the dithering on the part of the Centre in raising the tariff line on starch imports. Under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) commitments, the duty on tapioca starch, sago and modified starch could be raised to 100-150 per cent, considering the injury the imports could cause on domestic growers and industry.

The Government, too, originally was willing to consider increasing the basic customs duty from 30 per cent to 50 per cent. But, it later chose to levy safeguard duty only; that too on tapioca starch alone. This had led to the effective duty incident on the product to remain lower, the association said, adding that there is a need to protect the tapioca, a crop that has dual value as an important input to both food and industrial application, by raising the import tariff on starch/modified starch.

Irrigation policies

The farmers body in its submission wanted the Government to discourage raising intensive wet-crops using sub-soil water as the increased water stress caused by such practices contributed to depletion of groundwater and moisture erosion with spin off effect on global warming.

The association has, in this regard, favoured future irrigation supportive policies to lay emphasis on extending State assistances such as free electricity or micro irrigation subsidies for rain fed irrigation or to those who are actively engaged in drip irrigation that bring less pressure on ground water halting environmental degradation.

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