O J’s Corner

Do we have sufficient buffer stock?


A nation should be able to tide over the problem of shortage, provided it thinks about it in advance and builds up proper buffer stock. The prices of rice, wheat etc are soaring at the international level. With the price of crude oil poised to rise further, petroleum products would cost us dearly. This would have a cascading effect on commodity prices as well.

A thinking people, in other words a concerned government, should have acted prudently and created extra buffer stock of grain. There were international reports last year that production of grain was going down. India, it seems, had plans to import rice and wheat. The Leftists were against import from the United States. Then they should have argued for import from China. But China has been creating bumper buffer stocks. Now its National Development and Reform Commission has made it clear that there would be no problem of grain shortage as it has comfortable buffer stocks. The price of rice in the international market has risen to heights never seen before.Moreover, its grain production has also been on the rise.

It has a grain reserve at least 17 to 18 per cent more than what is required for consumption any time. The buffer stock quantity would be anything in the line of 150 million tonnes to 200 million tonnes.

India should also be able to provide figures about what it has as buffer stock. Markets should be scanned years in advance and stocks replenished. India, it seems, is entertaining pipe dreams about having good crops next time.