Liberal import of rice, wheat not to hit farmers' earnings
Rituparna Bhuyan & Ajay Modi / New Delhi August 2, 2008, 0:42 IST Prices of key farm produce like wheat and rice in India are way below international prices, which means rural households will not be robbed of their income if liberal imports of these commodities are allowed. Data collected by Business Standard show that rice prices in India are less than half of global prices, whereas wheat sells at two-thirds of global prices. While soya oil prices are the same in the two markets, cotton prices are slightly higher in India. These commodities can be exported free of duty to India.