Metro India News | Hyderabad 

In a significant move to protect domestic oil palm cultivators, Telangana Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has initiated talks with his counterparts in South India to demand a hike in import duties on crude palm oil. The minister emphasized that the current low import duties are adversely impacting local farmers while benefitting only millers, refiners, and retailers.

Tummala highlighted that cheaper imported oil is flooding the market, leaving domestic cultivators at a disadvantage. He has written personal letters to agriculture ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, as well as those in Northeast states like Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura, seeking unified pressure on the Centre.

The letters urge joint representation to the central government to demand a revision in import policy, including a restoration of the 44% customs duty on crude palm oil. Tummala also proposed fixing a Minimum Guaranteed Price (MGP) of Rs 25,000 per metric tonne for oil palm to safeguard farmers’ livelihoods.

He suggested that, if required, a delegation of agriculture ministers from southern states should meet Union ministers in Delhi to directly voice their concerns. "Any change in central policy must benefit farmers, not just corporate entities," Tummala asserted. He called for collective action to ensure farmer welfare, economic sustainability of the domestic oil palm sector, and long-term stability through equitable import regulations.