New Delhi, May 4 (IANS) The Indian
government Sunday reacted sharply to US President George W Bush's
contention that growing demand for foodgrains in India was the reason
for spiralling global food prices.
Defence Minister A K Antony termed it as a "cruel joke". "Instead, the
policies of US were responsible for the foodgrain shortage",he told
reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
Speaking in Missouri, Bush said there were 350 million people in India
who are classified as middle class. "That's bigger than America. Their
middle class is larger than our entire population. And when you start
getting wealth, you start demanding better nutrition and better food,
and so demand is high, and that causes the price to go up," he said.
Earlier, his Secretary of State Condolezza Rice also made similar
assumptions about how increase in demand in China and India was fuelling
the global food shortage.
The issue is expected to come up in parliament Monday.
The CII, India's premier business chamber, has meanwhile called for cut
in food wastage and immediate global response to address the issue.
"We need to build a global platform for dialogue and action to manage
the crisis," the CIIs' new director general Chandrajit Banerjee said in
a statement.
He said the issue regarding food price has to be seen in a global
perspective. The CII is setting-up a Task Force to look into the issue.
"It has not just to be seen as an issue originating from a particular
country. There is a need for greater flow of global information on food
production and consumption and cuts in food wastage," the CII observed.
The CII feels current food crisis is a creation of multiple of factors.
"The crisis include change in weather pattern resulting to drought and
diversion of food to biofuels besides other factors," said the CII.
It suggested that the global food management system can be developed
under the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).
It may be mentioned that rise in food items and some metal products had
resulted in inflation touching a new high at 7.57 percent, last month.
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