NAFED News

NAFED Urges Government to Export Onions under the PSF.

Nashik: Request to the Union Government by The National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (Nafed) to allow central agencies like it and the Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) to export onions under the Price Stability Funds (PSF) to stabilise prices. The ministry of commerce of the central government has received proposal by Nafed

"We had discussions with the top officials from the ministry of commerce on the onion issue. We have urged them to allow central agencies like Nafed and SFAC to export onions under the Price Stability Funds, which has been set up by the Centre to stabilise prices of select commodities like onion and potatoes in the country. The government will bear losses, if incurred, during export, but on the contrary, profit will also be added into the PCF account," said a source from Nafed.

To both Nafed and SFAC, the government will give onion export target of 10 lakh metric tonnes and this will help stabilise prices and save farmers from incurring losses.

Currently, summer crop onions arriving in the market which are harvested in March and April and the shelf life of summer crop is of six-seven months. So in the hope of getting better prices later the farmers prefer storing them. The produce has started sprouting and rotting because onions arriving in the market are four months old.

Farmers have huge stocks of onions, but prices have decreasing a lot and they are unable to get even the production cost. It costs Rs 1,000 per quintal to grow onions, but farmers incur losses if they get prices below that.

The government introduced PSF for onions, potatoes and other crops with provision of Rs 500 crore in the budget during the last financial year 2015-16. The government had created a buffer stock of 12,000 metric tonnes through central agencies like Nafed and SFAC in last year. But to meet the domestic requirement last year the scarcity had compelled the government to import 10,000 metric tonnes through MMTC Ltd.

The Centre has made a provision of Rs 900 crore under PSF for 2016-17 and the government has already created a buffer stock of 15,000 metric tonnes so far through Nafed and SFAC for this year. Also on onion export the ministry of commerce has decided to give a grant of 5% but for export of onions pitching Nafed and SFAC will help stabilise prices in the India.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

The National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India

The National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) is an apex organisation of marketing cooperatives in the country. The National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation (NAFED) was established in October 1958. The State Level Marketing Federations and the National Co-operative Development Corporation are its members. The head office of NAFED is at Delhi, and its branch offices are located at Bombay, Calcutta and Chennai. In addition it has the representatives of the Government of India, NCUI, NCDC, NCCF, Bharat Krishak Samaj and the State Bank of India.

NAFED’s area of operation extends to the whole country. It deals in procurement, processing, distribution, export and import of selected agricultural commodities. The NAFED is also the central nodal agency for undertaking price support operations for pulses and oilseeds and market intervention operations for other agricultural commodities.

Objectives

To co-ordinate and promote the marketing and trading activities of its affiliated co-operative institutions;

To make arrangements for the supply of the agricultural inputs required by member institutions;

To promote inter-state and international trade in agricultural and other commodities; and

To act as an agent of the government for the purchase, sale, storage and distribution of agricultural products and inputs.

Activities

The NAFED performs the following activities:
♦ Internal Trade
NAFED is engaged in interstate trade in agricultural commodities, particularly foodgrains, pulses, oilseeds, cotton, jute, spices, fruits, vegetables and eggs with a view to assuring better prices to the producers.

♦ Foreign Trade- Export and Import of Agricultural Commodities
The NAFED exports agricultural commodities, particularly onions (canalised), potatoes, ginger, garlic, nigerseed, sesamessed, gum, deoiled cake of groundnut, soyabean and cottonseed, fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, spices- black pepper, cardamom, turmeric, cuminseed, coriander seed; cereals-rice, barley, bajra, jowar and ragi and jute bags.

Imports

The NAFED also arranges for the imports of pulses, fresh fruits, dry fruits, nutmeg (jaiphal), wetdates and chicory seeds and inputs particularly fertilizers and machinery as and when asked to do so by the government.

♦ Price support operations
Government of India have designated NAFED as the nodal agency for implementing the price support policy for oilseeds and coarse grains during Seventh Five Year Plan period (1985-90). NAFED is being appointed as the agency of the government to undertake support price purchases of commodities like groundnut, soyabean, mustard seed, gram, tur, moong, bajra, jowar, maize, barley, toria and sunflower seed.

♦ Production and Marketing of Agricultural Inputs
NAFED helps the farmers by supplying them agricultural machinery like harvesting combines tractors, spare parts and such other inputs as bio-fertilizers. NAFED also imports some of the machine and spare parts from abroad to ensure timely availability of genuine spare parts at reasonable prices.

♦ Promotional Activities
NAFED maintains expert staff, which conducts market studies, collects data and circulates the results among the members.

♦ Developing Co-operative Marketing of Tribal Produce
A separate cell to develop the marketing of product of the tribal areas (minor forest products) having economic value has been set up with the assistance of NAFED. NAFED arranges market intelligence, establishes better system for auction of tribal produce and develops for other commodities like chilgoza, gum, karya etc. Keeping in view the importance of marketing of tribal produce, a separate Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED) has been set up.

♦ Setting of Scientific Storage System
NAFED has set up a cold storage alongwith an ice factory and a warehouse in Delhi. It has set up an onion warehousing complex at Nagapattanam.

♦ Processing of Fruits and Vegetables
NAFED has set up a multi-commodity fruit and vegetables processing unit at Delhi and at Vellore (Tamil Nadu). The basic purpose is to develop the processing industry in co-operative sector in a major way so as to make fruits and vegetable marketing and processing to the advantage of the farmers.

NAFED also manufactures jute goods in joint venture with Konark Jute Limited-promoted by Industrial Development Corporation of Orissa.

Co-operative marketing and processing of Milk and Oilseeds

♦ Milk
With a view to providing marketing support to the milk producers, a sound network of dairy cooperatives has taken shape in the country. The network consists of milk producers cooperative societies at the village level, District Milk Co-operative Unions at the district level, State Co-operative Dairy Federations at the state level and National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) at the national level.

♦ Oilseeds
Oilseeds grower’s co-operative societies at the village level and State Co-operative Oilseeds Growers Federations have been organised in many States. The nomenclature differs from State to State.

Government
(Organization)