Allaying fears of possible food riots, Union Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said there was no shortage of food grains in the country and claimed that the prices of essential commodities had shown a stabilising trend in the past one month. Replying to a discussion on price rise, Mr. Pawar said the government would import one million tonnes of edible oils and 15 lakh tonnes of pulses to overcome the shortage and help in bringing down the prices. The process of procuring edible oils through public sector undertakings had already started and it would be distributed to the States to be sold at a subsidised rate of Rs.15 per kg to those below poverty line (BPL) and under the Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY). The government would take a final decision on banning futures trading in essential items if the Abhijeet Sen Committee did not submit its report within 10 days, though prohibiting futures trading in four essential items had not helped in reducing the prices, Mr. Pawar said. The Centre would also convene a meeting of Chief Ministers on the issue of price rise. Mr. Pawar's reply came amidst repeated disruptions from the Opposition and the Left allies who walked out of the House to express unhappiness over the steps taken to control price rise. Appealing to the States to help in contributing to the Central kitty, Mr. Pawar denied that there had been curtailments in the Centre's quota to States under the Public Distribution System. Instead, he said, the off-take by the States had been low. The Centre had taken several steps, including banning of rice (barring basmati), wheat and reduced import duty on edible oils, ghee and butter, to bring down the prices. Blaming the global food scenario for the unprecedented price hike, Mr. Pawar said the scene in India was much better when compared to other countries. "Prices of food grains in India are the lowest in the world but still at an unacceptable level and we need to improve the situation.' Another factor was the hike in energy prices that increases the production cost forcing the farmer to shift to more remunerative crops. No hike in MSP of wheat, paddy Ruling out the possibility of any hike in the Minimum Support Price of wheat and paddy, he said the Centre was ready to lift surplus stocks of potatoes and onions as requested by some States. He said wheat and paddy production this year was expected to be much higher than last year and the government was in a position to procure more and ensure adequate food stock.