Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Credit: DH File Photo
Bengaluru: Urging the union government to “immediately curb” maize imports in order to stabilise prices, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said his government would hold talks with major distilleries and ask them to immediately procure the crop for ethanol production.
Siddaramaiah chaired a meeting in the wake of protests by farmers in north Karnataka following a crash in prices of maize.
“Maize production has increased in both Karnataka and the rest of the country. Despite this, the union government has imported 70 lakh metric tonnes of maize, placing a heavy burden on farmers nationwide,” Siddaramaiah said. “The quota allotted to Karnataka for producing ethanol from maize is extremely low, resulting in reduced procurement by distilleries,” he added.
“Distilleries had stockpiled maize earlier when prices were low, and are now unwilling to buy. This is a clear violation of norms — distilleries must resume procurement as required,” Siddaramaiah said.
Siddaramaiah said the union government should “press the concerned agencies” to “quickly procure” eight lakh tonnes of maize. “As domestic production is sufficient, we will write to the Centre urging restrictions on the 70 lakh metric tonnes maize import,” he said. “We will also hold discussions with the poultry industry, which has a substantial demand for maize,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh wrote to Union Cooperation Secretary Ashish Kumar Bhutani on these issues.