Members on Wednesday expressed concern in the State Assembly that Odisha is still dependent on other States for consumption of essential commodities mainly because of lack of cold storages for preservations of vegetables for offseason use.
Putting questions during the Question Hour, Mohan Charan Majhi (BJP), Amar Prasad Satpathy and Sudhansu Sekhar Parida (BJD) and Congress Member Suresh Kumar Routray stressed that the Government must take all necessary measures for preservation of vegetables like potato, onion, tomato for offseason use by the people of the State.
Responding to a question of Majhi, Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari, on behalf of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain, told the House that Odisha is a consuming State, which, excepting rice, imports all other commodities like wheat, edible oil, potato, onion and sugar to meet daily need of its people.
The State produces an average of 76.19 lakh metric tonne of rice every year against its annual need of 68.31 lakh metric tonne.
Thus, Odisha is a surplus State in rice production, said the Minister.
Pujari informed that Odisha produces 0.07 lakh metric tonne of wheat against the need of 5.26 lakh metric tonne. Balance wheat is imported from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar to meet the need of the people.
The State produces 8.01 lakh MT pules against its annual need of 2.83 lakh MT. Required dal and other pulses are imported from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. The State produces 2.28 lakh MT of edible oil against annual need of 2.48 lakh MT and the balance is exported from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
An annual average of 2.94 lakh MT of potato is produced in the State every year while the annual need is 12.20 lakh metric tonne. Odisha meets its potato need by importing balance tuber from the neighbouring West Bengal.
Though the State produces onion more than its requirement, still the daily-consuming item does’t meet the people’s need during offseason due to lack of preservation. Odisha produces 3.74 lakh MT of onion against annual need of 2.41 l MT. Onion is imported from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, said the Minister.
