Manipur Plans To Import Rice From Thailand

Import to make up for shortage

Foreign flavour

Imphal, Jun 23 : The Manipur government is contemplating import of rice from Thailand to make up for the shortage of the staple in the state.

The move comes in the wake of frequent disruption in the supply of essentials along the Imphal-Jiribam and Imphal-Dimapur highways owing to bandhs and blockades on the two prime routes, apart from low local production in the state.

Officials of the state food and civil supplies department and trade and commerce department will soon hold a joint meeting to take a decision on the import of rice from Thailand. The food and civil supplies department, after taking a final decision at the meeting, will place the matter before the state cabinet for consideration.

“The Thailand commerce department is willing to sell rice to Manipur. We are considering the matter and a final decision is likely to be taken very soon,” food and civil supplies minister Yumkham Erabot Singh, who is also the minister in-charge of commerce and industry, told reporters today.

The minister said experts have tested rice samples sent from Thailand for its quality and durability and found them suitable.

The Okram Ibobi Singh government is also considering options of procuring rice from other Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar.

Manipur has not been able to produce enough rice for local consumption. It has a cultivable land of 2,33, 400 hectares and the average annual production is 421 metric tonnes against the actual requirement of 621.35 metric tonnes. Out of this, nearly 40 per cent of the local production is used in religious festivals and making country liquor.

The demand for rice is for the local population and it does not include floating population like central forces deployed in the state and others like migrants.

The gap is filled to an extent by rice provided by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) at subsidised rates. The monthly quantity of rice provided by the FCI is 78,870 quintals.

A two-day buyer-seller meeting between India and Myanmar in May at Tamu in the neighbouring country suggested import of rice from Myanmar to help Manipur and other Northeast states make up for shortage of the essential commodity.

Erabot Singh said New Delhi and Yangon are examining the 15-point proposal made by the two-day buyer-seller meet.

“We are hoping that both the authorities would give their approval as soon as possible so that border trade could develop further,” the minister added.