Friday, September 08, 2006

more bad news on the wheat import front

sep 2nd, 2006

we consume more wheat as we become more prosperous, as we want baked goods, etc, as marketed to us by the TV networks.

this is not good news. we should encourage the consumption of local grains, suitably dressed up and marketed as hip. a bit like how khadi is now being moved upmarket.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=139012

amazing how much marketing and advertising can hurt a country's long-term interests. it's in our interests to not be captive to the american/canadian/australian agribusiness monopolies.

2 comments:

Ghost Writer said...

Rajeev,
The wheat import story is really discouraging because we actually produce more wheat than we consume (same is true with rice also); therefore we do not infact need to dress up local grains as hip.
We just need to improve the Sarkaari supply again. A decent (though West-o-philic) analysis of this problem from some time ago here . Ignore the blah-blah about subsidies - truth is US farm subsidies are way bigger - and they actually destroy wheat to maintain support prices for their farmers.
Perhaps the solution for us lies in
1- Encouraging more production of pulses, vegetables and edible oils at the cost of grains (effect on water table? I do not know to be honest)
2- Ensuring that we maintain a decent grain buffer in case of downturns (crop failures etc.)

Are there demand-prediction or statistical models that can solve this problem? Also what is the best way to get Indians spending less proportion of their income (55% is too high) on food? Any thoughts?

AGworld said...

Ghost Writer
Some thoughts and a few answers to your questions

1. India probably produces enough wheat at the Farm end. the problem is because of exceedingly poor supply chains, most of it rots or gets wasted.
Importing it is a simple solution -- simpler than fixing roads or getting government pimps out of the way (i.e. move from agriculture to agribusiness).
One analysis done some time ago revealed that anywhere between 40-60% of indias produce is LOST (due to spoilage,wastage or theft).

2. The only reason india spends so much on food is because it is a poor country. When you're poor, expectations from life shrink to food, water and shelter. No surprises of we spend 55% on food -- the answer is higher GDP growth.

Alas, our Shikhandi sardar sarkar is not interested in any of this
1. Singh and his henchmen have stalled road development (take the GQ)
2. Singh and his henchmen will not allow agri reforms
3. Singh and his henchmen certainly do not want india's GDP to grow. If indians became rich, there would be no one grovelling to the kaangress sarkar for food handouts. Then how can kaangress continue its wonderful "secular" divide and rule policies.