A high-level meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday decided to free sugar exports by removing quantitative restrictions and scrapped the Minimum Export Price on onion exports.

It also set up a committee that will suggest mechanisms for clearing accumulated stocks of foodgrain as there is a shortfall in storage capacity.

The panel will also study the financial feasibility of the proposals made by the Food Ministry to clear some of the foodgrain stocks that will touch 74.9 million tonnes on June 1.

Suggestions very soon

The committee, set up under C. Rangarajan, Chairman of Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, will give its suggestions in the “shortest time” on the proposals put forth by Minister of State for Food K.V. Thomas whether some stocks should be depleted by raising Targeted Public Distribution Scheme allocations through exports and Open Market Sale Scheme to make it available to roller flour mills and bakeries.

Secretaries of the Ministries of Agriculture, Food, Commerce and Finance will also be on the Rangarajan panel. Dr. Rangarajan had in the past headed a panel to give suggestions on the recommendation of the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council on the proposed National Food Security Bill.

The meeting decided to allow sugar exports under Open General Licence (OGL) on a first come, first served basis as was demanded by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in a letter to Dr. Singh last month. Millers will now not have to seek a release order for sugar exports. The OGL scheme will continue till such time that domestic sugar prices remain in check.

Among those who participated in the meeting were Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Mr. Pawar, Mr. Thomas, Commerce and Textiles Minister Anand Sharma and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia besides senior officials.

EGoM meet

Sources said the decisions taken would be implemented as the meeting was turned into an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) meet.

The meeting was to have taken place on Monday but was deferred. On the day, however, an “informal” EGoM had decided to remove the restrictions placed on cotton exports.

Mr. Pawar had lamented that the government's export policies were hurting farmers, who were being asked to subsidise the industry. Seeking a free market and trade regime to ensure remunerative prices to farmers, he had said for the government's minimum support price to cover the high input costs was impossible.