Indian Economy: News and Discussion (Jan 1 2010)

Raghavendra · Post by **Raghavendra** » 22 Dec 2010 12:04

Onion export permits surged last month
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/onion ... h/727896/0

While Pawar blamed unseasonal rain for the “disruption in supply”, which had adversely impacted the crop, Sharma felt there was “enough stock of onions” in the country and hoarding was the prime culprit. Pawar also rejected proposals to import onions to offset the problem.

While the unseasonal rains may be one factor, the export permits issued in November may have also fuelled the upward jump in onion prices.

Export permits, in the form of ‘No Objection Certificates (NOCs)’, issued for November were over 35 per cent more than the numbers issued in October, despite clear warnings of cyclonic rains in October-end and erratic rainfall in November in onion-producing states, by the National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF). The figure for November, in fact, was 60 per cent more than the number of export permits issued in November last year.

Congress loves aam aadmi so much it wants to starve him to death, food can rot in godowns but wont be provided to needy, onions can be exported while aam aadmi is denied that too

abhischekcc · Post by **abhischekcc** » 22 Dec 2010 14:52

nachiket wrote:I didn't get you. Are you saying that the workers won't even demand more pay because they are already satisfied that they have "arrived"?

No no.

What I meant was that for some people, even these supposedly lowly jobs are a source of pride.

ashokpachori · Post by **ashokpachori** » 22 Dec 2010 22:02

Single malt whisky from India ranked among world's best

India, which was introduced to Scotch by the British, is the world's largest consumer of whisky, most of it distilled from cheap molasses and of dubious quality.

Now, however, an Indian dram has the global cognoscenti aglow.

Made in Bangalore from a combination of Indian and imported Scottish barley, Amrut Fusion Single Malt has been judged the world's third-finest by Jim Murray, a Briton who describes himself as the world's first dedicated whisky writer.

Its cheaper than a lie detector...

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Single+mal ... z18rOXQCSd

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 22 Dec 2010 23:13

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-Bank ... DP-/727974
Banking sector needs to grow at 3 times of GDP’

Highlighting the crucial role of banks as a driver of growth, Chanda Kochhar, managing director and CEO, ICICI Bank said the sector needs to grow at three times the rate of GDP growth to keep pace with the funding requirements of industry and economy. “With the current growth rate of the economy, banks will have to grow at a rate of 24 per cent or so to address all its needs,” Kochhar said on Tuesday at a panel discussion on ‘Enterprising India: Building the India of Future’ at the TiE Entrepreneurship Summit 2010. “What banks have to do now is to fund both investment and consumption. They have to find funds for investing in infrastructure, meeting the demands of working capital from corporates and SMEs as well as small individuals. So there’s a huge role for banks to play,” she said

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 22 Dec 2010 23:15

^ so they can do a Lehman brothers or Gs on India?

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 22 Dec 2010 23:45

abhischekcc wrote:
nachiket wrote:I didn't get you. Are you saying that the workers won't even demand more pay because they are already satisfied that they have "arrived"?
No no.

What I meant was that for some people, even these supposedly lowly jobs are a source of pride.

They can and should be proud of what they do. But that wouldn'tstop a pay rise that should ideally be happening if there is a shortage of workers.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 23 Dec 2010 01:13

R. Vaidyanathan's column, the Indian growth story is propelled by black money

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 23 Dec 2010 01:58

Please try to think before throwing polemics like 'so they can do a Lehman Bros or GS ?' Our banks are absolutely puny compared to the amount of capital we need to harness and deploy in order to continue to maintain our GDP growth goals. The deposit base of SBI or ICICI is a fraction of any of the big four Chinese banks, and probably less than all of their top 10 banks too. For example, SBI, our largest bank, sits on an asset base of ~$325 billion and ICICI on $110B, while each of the Chinese big four (BoC, CCB, ICBC, ABC) have an asset base north of $1 trillion individually. Regardless of the excesses of their system (and there are plenty, but not within the scope of this thread), our banking system and domestic Rupee debt markets remain woefully short of what we need to fund our growth. There's nothing wrong in the statement that the banking system needs to grow much faster than GDP. It is the truth.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 23 Dec 2010 02:41

Earlier in the other thread regarding FDs I was left wondering, if the insured part is only Rs1L what safe choices do common people have other than stuff money under their pillow. Buy RE or gold and the latter would be a waste from the pov of achieving high growth.

Say 10% of population ie. around a 100 million people "the middle class" saves more than 1L a year but do not keep them in FD due to the insured ceiling limits, then that money is vested in immovable assets like gold. That is 10^8 * Rs 10^5 = Rs10^13 ~= $5 * 10^10 or $50 billion yearly. This is roughly 10% of the asset base of the big two mentioned above that is not available to the banks to spur the growth needed. And if this has been going on for the last decade then even at flat rates of savings, it is $500 billion that is tied up.

ashokpachori · Post by **ashokpachori** » 23 Dec 2010 02:48

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking corp alone has 2.5 trillion USD which dwarfs every other bank in Mainland.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 23 Dec 2010 11:09

Should India Accept World Bank Aid?

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010 ... -bank-aid/

ashokpachori · Post by **ashokpachori** » 23 Dec 2010 17:57

abhishek_sharma wrote:Should India Accept World Bank Aid?

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010 ... -bank-aid/

On one hand she questions the wisdom of WB 1.5 billion loan to India and on the other she has to say this:

Should an “emerged” country such as India still receive charity?

How is a loan a charity ?

PrasadZ · Post by **PrasadZ** » 23 Dec 2010 19:00

Coz its a interest free loan, thats why.

ashokpachori · Post by **ashokpachori** » 23 Dec 2010 19:54

PrasadZ wrote:Coz its a interest free loan, thats why.

If you give charity, it does not come back to you, its gone from you to a recipient. While one has to repay the loan.

But anyway...

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 23 Dec 2010 21:43

I disagree with the basic premise of the article - that just because we're an emerging power, it's beneath us to accept aid or soft loans. I'll happily take the money and put it to productive use (it has to be, since it needs to be paid back) while putting aside any notion of pride or similar emotion. Besides, I make a clear distinction between IBRD (World Bank) soft loans and clear donor grants/writeoffs. A loan is a loan, and we've always paid ours back.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 23 Dec 2010 22:59

Simple question to gurus. Why are food prices in India rising? While answering you can assume that I know nothing about the issue, though I know a little bit of theory. Please have the patience that you will exhibit when answering a 10 yr old, I might come back with more questions.

ashokpachori · Post by **ashokpachori** » 23 Dec 2010 23:24

@SwamyG

Monsoon, market forces, merchants...

Ashoka · Post by **Ashoka** » 23 Dec 2010 23:46

SwamyG wrote:Simple question to gurus. Why are food prices in India rising? While answering you can assume that I know nothing about the issue, though I know a little bit of theory. Please have the patience that you will exhibit when answering a 10 yr old, I might come back with more questions.

That's what I was going to ask. So how can the govt pitch in & do something about it? I was talking to a friend in Pune just today. He & his wife earn total 15 Lakh an year. And they were telling they have to think even which vegetables they will afford. Petrol is expected to become Rs 70 a liter next month. Gas is expected to sore as well. My mom was telling she plans to buy some garlic when prices go down. For gods sake - Garlic.

And she has a well established business too.

WTF is going on? If higher middle class people are having to think like this if to buy Garlic or not, I can't imagine how poor people are even surviving. When this will end and how?

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 24 Dec 2010 00:33

ashokpachori wrote:@SwamyG

Monsoon, market forces, merchants...

You need to give me a better coherent explanation. Remember I can Google and also know a little "ABCDs" of economics. Please be patient write in paragraphs if you have the time and inclination.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 24 Dec 2010 00:56

Temper SwamyG Temper!

I suspect you have a theory as well. Why not put that forth first.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 24 Dec 2010 01:06

Is the lack of cold storage facilities hurting our economy? Some years, there is a glut of tomato crop and prices crash down to 50 paise per kilo (for farmers). I remember reading reports of Kolar farmers dumping tomatoes on the road in protest. And other times, prices goes up to Rs 50 per kilo. If we had good storage facilities and traders were hoarding them, it is a different issue.

I do know that we don't have proper storage facilities, and India wastes the highest amount of fruits and vegetables due to non-availabilty of affordable storage. Llack of power is another reason for lack of storage facility in the hinterlands. Some private cold storage facilities use generators which drive up the cost to store these vegetables and fruits too.

There is also lack of information to the farmers about which products to grow. If a vegetable/grain/fruit brings good prices one year, other farmers rush to plant the same in the next year, driving down prices for everyone, while prices of other crops go up. There needs to be an organization which analyzes crops and weather forecasts across India/other countries, and come out with a reasonable prediction on which crop might have shortage and suggest the same to farmers. A good weather prediction model is important too, which we currently lack in India.

disha · Post by **disha** » 24 Dec 2010 01:30

ashokpachori wrote:@SwamyG

Monsoon, market forces, merchants...

Blaming merchants is the last thing to do. Indians in general think merchants are bad, infact they are the one necessary component of the overall picture. Blaming merchants is not going to help, shows off the ridiculuous communism. Going after "merchants" is like going after peanuts while the elite babu-neta getting their badam/pistas.

It is more of wrong government policies, incompetent babus and short sighted netas. Just think about it, Onions are being exported and re-imported back at a higher price. Who is going to make profit there? Why are onions being exported out in the first place? Does not the government have a chart on what food will get affected if monsoon gets delayed, gets extended etc?

Again the food inflation in general is to be expected. As cities grow, farmlands are vanishing. Compound this with extremely inefficient distribution and on top of it add in rickety infrastructure. Entire thing looks like a house of cards and one variable change (say increase in demand) and things go downhill. Food inflation was expected and currently any action is the proverbial closing the barn after the horse has bolted.

What was the food & agriculture minister (Sharad Pawar) was doing? Making money from Lavasa?

Ashoka wrote: That's what I was going to ask. So how can the govt pitch in & do something about it? I was talking to a friend in Pune just today. He & his wife earn total 15 Lakh an year. And they were telling they have to think even which vegetables they will afford. Petrol is expected to become Rs 70 a liter next month. Gas is expected to sore as well. My mom was telling she plans to buy some garlic when prices go down. For gods sake - Garlic. And she has a well established business too.

WTF is going on? If higher middle class people are having to think like this if to buy Garlic or not, I can't imagine how poor people are even surviving. When this will end and how?

I am glad that upper middle class is facing the pinch. Until they feel the impact, no change will be done. Funny thing is Garlic/Onions are so easy to grow in your backyard or your terrace or your roofs, but nothing is attempted. India is blessed with excellent tropical weather and all people do is Rona & Dhona and blaming the government. It is pathetic that the kitchen garden industry has not taken off in India. That itself could run well in Billions (USD only). Take for example the roof tops in apartment complexes. All of them are vacant., the apartments cannot hire a "gardner" to take care of their plants and distribute the produce? Chillies/Onions/Garlic/All kind of Herbs and root vegetables etc. can be grown effectively! Yes cereals and grains have to be procured from outside, but then in an environment where merchants are blamed - Rona & Dhona comes easy.

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 24 Dec 2010 02:21

SwamyG wrote:Simple question to gurus. Why are food prices in India rising? While answering you can assume that I know nothing about the issue, though I know a little bit of theory. Please have the patience that you will exhibit when answering a 10 yr old, I might come back with more questions.

Looking at the proceedings in the 2G scam, the reason very likely is another scam. If food prices can be "fixed" in the USA in 2010, I am sure that they can be in India as well. There should be an MRTP investigation starting from the agriculture ministry, extending down to exporters and wholesalers to check if prices are being fixed.

This is a apart from all the reforms needed to make agriculture competitive.

ashokpachori · Post by **ashokpachori** » 24 Dec 2010 02:28

Blaming merchants is the last thing to do. Indians in general think merchants are bad, infact they are the one necessary component of the overall picture. Blaming merchants is not going to help, shows off the ridiculuous communism

In India merchants are responsible for massive hoarding and black marketing, dont we know that?

It is only after three months of hammering and driving home this point that I find the government has finally woken up the real threat. It has been talking in tough terms against hoarders now. Some State governments have swung into action. And look at the results. In just a few days of a crackdown against hoarders throughout the state, Madhya Pradesh has been able to recover sugar worth Rs 10,000 crores. Just in Malanpur and Bhind godowns, 14,364 quintals of sugar beyond the permissible limit was seized. Raids have been widespread, and are still continuing. In three days time, the State has found 34,000 quintal of sugar kept illegally. Market price of sugar has come down by Rs 3 a kg just in two days time.

More than 174 commercial establishments were raided between August 1 and 24, and over 10,197 litres of kerosene, 3,68,955 kilogram of sugar and 3,51,706 kilogram of grain and pulses were seized, the statement said.

You will find many more such raids being conducted periodically in India, as and when there is hue and cry about prices from public.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 24 Dec 2010 02:31

Lack of cold storage is definitely a cause. If we want to avoid inflation we will have to pay higher average prices.

For instance cold storage and transport doubles the price on average. So instead of Tomatos at Rs 10 when low you would pay a consistent Rs 20-25 through the year. People are not ready for this.

For most of the year when over production occurs the cold storage guys get hammered. People like the Rs 5 tomato. You can't call cold storage in only when there is a shortage as vegetables are very perishable. Even with cold storage you only get about 3 months of time. Cold Storage only works when the loop is complete and ALL produce goes through cold storage.

Also when your income goes up you are going to have to pay more to farmers. When GDP is going up 10%-12% a year why must farmers not get 15% more per year. They are human too.

Another thing, the government only sets minimum support prices for grain. Grain inflation is restricted due to storage. No one cries when farmers get hammered by low prices. For a farmers who struggled through the monsoon this is the entire years profit.

saip · Post by **saip** » 24 Dec 2010 02:44

ashokpachori wrote:Hongkong and Shanghai Banking corp alone has 2.5 trillion USD which dwarfs every other bank in Mainland.

Isnt HSBC bank a British bank?

saip · Post by **saip** » 24 Dec 2010 02:48

Few years ago we had a glut of Cold Storage warehouses (at least in Guntur, AP) so much so that the owners found it better to burn them and claim insurance money on them than to run them!

ashokpachori · Post by **ashokpachori** » 24 Dec 2010 02:57

saip wrote:
ashokpachori wrote:Hongkong and Shanghai Banking corp alone has 2.5 trillion USD which dwarfs every other bank in Mainland.
Isnt HSBC bank a British bank?

The origins of the bank lie in Hong Kong and Shanghai, where branches were first opened in 1865. Today HSBC remains the largest bank in Hong Kong (where the Group Chief Executive is currently based), and recent expansion in mainland China, where it is now the largest international bank, has returned it to that part of its roots.

Headquarters: 1 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong

You are mixed up with HSBC Holdings plc perhaps with Headquarter in London.

saip · Post by **saip** » 24 Dec 2010 03:30

HSBC, Hongkong is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC HOldings Plc, UK. My bank is HSBC, USA which again is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings Plc., UK

disha · Post by **disha** » 24 Dec 2010 03:45

ashokpachori wrote:In India merchants are responsible for massive hoarding and black marketing, dont we know that?

Why would they hoard (think through it beyond one liners)? What would they hoard? Can they hoard Onions? You gave an example for Sugar - Can you give me examples (large scale in several thousands metric tons over the permissible limit) for the following:

1. Onions
2. Garlic
3. Potatoes incl. sweet potatoes
4. Vegetables and Gourds like Brinjals, Lady fingers, different squashes and gourds (bottle/snake etc)
5. Herbs like mint/coriander and leafy vegetables like Spinach/Methi
6. Tomotoes/Cucumber/Chillies
7. "condiments" like turmeric, pepper etc.
8. Fruits (bring in your list here)

Again you have not proven your point about targetting Merchants till you give concrete examples on all of the above spanning over a decade! And if they were hoarded what actions did the babu-neta cliche took to overcome it!!

Yes, food security is not just concentrating on Grains (what about dals like toor/udad etc?). If the babus and netas has any plan, they would ensure that there is a regular and local supply of the above. Further efficient distribution can overcome localized shortages. We are importing from Pakistan and that crop seems to have reached first., while moving out from Gujarat and Rajasthan is taking time (or not highlighted)! Why?

Other than blaming the merchant, can you come up with a better reason? Hint: Onions were allowed to be exported and now is re-imported at higher price. Of course certain segments will benefit, but what is the Food and Agriculture minister doing? Sleeping? What is the minimum price limit on which they can export? Does India need so much of dollars now that the minimum price to export being less than the domestic price is tolerated? If so why?

Till then "blaming the merchant" is what it is - a communist red rag.

paramu · Post by **paramu** » 24 Dec 2010 04:55

ashokpachori wrote:In India merchants are responsible for massive hoarding and black marketing, dont we know that?

In this case, easily perishable vegetable can not be hoarded by merchants. Blame the government who allowed their export.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 24 Dec 2010 05:09

Theo_Fidel wrote:Temper SwamyG Temper!

I suspect you have a theory as well. Why not put that forth first.

theory ilae orru mannum illae. Replace the "mannum" with the choicest madras bashai slang

When I say theory, I met economic theory of prices, supply, demand ityadi. But I do not live there and do not know the ground realities. Kovam elam kidayadhu saar

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 24 Dec 2010 05:39

two reasons for onion prices touching a whopping Rs 90 a kg in the retail market: Unseasonal rains and export licences

According to The Indian Express, export permits, in the form of 'No Objection Certificates (NOCs)', issued for November were over 35 per cent more than the numbers issued in October, despite clear warnings of cyclonic rains in October-end and erratic rainfall in November in onion-producing states. And where did the onions grown in India go to? The markets in Pakistan! While Pakistan importers got onions at around Rs 16-Rs 20 a kg, they are now laughing all the way to the bank while exporting onions to India at Rs 60 a kg!

India has one of the best early warning systems in weather forecasting, thanks to a series of remote-sensing satellites launched by ISRO. But in this case, either the Agriculture Ministry did not call for the weather data or just ignored it.

disha · Post by **disha** » 24 Dec 2010 06:29

Airavat wrote:two reasons for onion prices touching a whopping Rs 90 a kg in the retail market: Unseasonal rains and export licences

According to The Indian Express, export permits, in the form of 'No Objection Certificates (NOCs)', issued for November were over 35 per cent more than the numbers issued in October, despite clear warnings of cyclonic rains in October-end and erratic rainfall in November in onion-producing states. And where did the onions grown in India go to? The markets in Pakistan! While Pakistan importers got onions at around Rs 16-Rs 20 a kg, they are now laughing all the way to the bank while exporting onions to India at Rs 60 a kg!

India has one of the best early warning systems in weather forecasting, thanks to a series of remote-sensing satellites launched by ISRO. But in this case, either the Agriculture Ministry did not call for the weather data or just ignored it.

I read somewhere, unable to pull the link, the licenses were 35% more in nov. compared to oct. of the same year and more than 60% compared to last year for the same month. So how much Pawar made money? Was he vacationing in Lavasa?

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 24 Dec 2010 06:59

Okay, I had to rely on Google University to rise my "information level"; Economists view on rising price levels dated July 14 2010

Key points {view the slide show for explanation}
1. Inflation causing prices to rise. High inflation could be because of (a) faulty planning or (b) insufficient production of goods.
2. Monsoon. Late, early, wrong timing ityadi.
3. Hoarding is not a problem. Hoarders actually play a positive role in economy.
4. Rural population purchasing power is high now.
5. Increase in petrol price.

amit · Post by **amit** » 24 Dec 2010 07:54

^^^^^^

Actually SwamyG, IMO you can cut through all that and zero in on a single point. And that is a very underdeveloped supply chain linking the producers (farmers) directly to the consumers at shops. An efficient supply chain consists of various parts, both physical as well as management related.

In the physical you need good cold storages, air-conditioned delivery trucks, distribution and collection points and an efficient road network which facilitates smooth interstate transport. As an example you should be able to move, say onions, from Pune to Kolkata in an airconditioned truck in two days and not just one truck but several dozens a day.

The management side consists of sellers, like departmental stores, going direct to the producers and buying the stuff. Even paying advanced money to book the produce before it grows or comes out of the ground. That is we need to diminish the power of the sabji mandi hoaders who manipulate pricing.

If all this can be put in place then the net result would be that the differential between what you and I pay at the store and what the farmer gets would go down - the entire supply chain would work on the basis of volume and not per unit cost - and this would provide a further virtuous incentive to improve the system even further.

Such a supply chain can only come up when we have large pan Indian chains - do note they don't have to be multinational types like Wal Mart but local ones - which can make the necessary investments to set and maintain the supply chain. Actually not one supply chain but several run by different companies and competing with each other.

As long as we have the outdated system of farmers trudging with their produce to the nearest town Sabhi Mandi and selling at whatever price the Mahajan decides to give them - and a vast majority of Indian farmers still do this - we will have a system which is open to manipulation by the Pawar types. Incidentally I'm sure he had a hand in giving out all those export certs.

Monsoons and weather of course still play a part but I reckon, less a part, considering we still posted a small growth in the agri sector last year (2009) despite the drought.

JMT and other statutory disclaimers.

shyam · Post by **shyam** » 24 Dec 2010 08:17

Why this obsession with supply chains, refrigerated transportation, and thereby indirect demand for Walmart type of large chains in India? Check following facts.

- Onions do not need refrigerated storage. It will go bad quickly if you keep that in refrigerator.
- Current issues is that Onions were exported. Whether onions were distributed through huge retailers or trasnported in refrigerate trucks, its price will go up if they were exported in large quantities when they were available.

If people are not willing to see the obvious reason for the current problem, I have no hope about the solutions proposed.

amit · Post by **amit** » 24 Dec 2010 08:30

shyam wrote:Why this obsession with supply chains, refrigerated transportation, and thereby indirect demand for Walmart type of large chains in India? Check following facts.

- Onions do not need refrigerated storage. It will go bad quickly if you keep that in refrigerator.
- Current issues is that Onions were exported. Whether onions were distributed through huge retailers or trasnported in refrigerate trucks, its price will go up if they were exported in large quantities when they were available.

If people are not willing to see the obvious reason for the current problem, I have no hope about the solutions proposed.

Boss I think you missed SwamyG's original questions which was:

Simple question to gurus. Why are food prices in India rising? While answering you can assume that I know nothing about the issue, though I know a little bit of theory. Please have the patience that you will exhibit when answering a 10 yr old, I might come back with more questions.

You'll see he didn't just confine it to onions. And you seem overlook the fact that air conditioned trucks and storage are just a part of the supply chain not the be-all, end-all. Yes I agree my use of onion as an example for transporting from Pune to Kolkata was not accurate, since onions don't need airconditioning. But the same principle would apply if, say, you were transporting cauliflowers or some such vegetables.

Also I really can't understand your obsessive instance to link efficient supply chains to Wal Mart. Do you think local Indian departmental stores like Reliance, Big Bazzar, Marks and Spencer etc don't have the capability to set up such chains?

I think you should look up the ITC e-choupal scheme. What I'm saying is that such initiatives need to be increased manifold to have an impact and that can only happen when we have a much bigger and better organised retail. We don't need Wal Mart in India but if they do come in, they'll be just one of many strong players. I think we had this discussion already.

Despite your dislike for Wal Mart and organised retail, you can't get away from the fact the Indian agricultural supply chain is outdated, creaky and bad. And it results in a lot of wastage and price manipulation. And the only way you're going to get the hundreds of crores that need to be invested to fix it come in is if you encourage organised retail which does not have to be foreign dominated.

JMT

Rahul Mehta · Post by **Rahul Mehta** » 24 Dec 2010 08:51

--- moved to 2G scam thread a different thread ---

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 24 Dec 2010 08:57

Organised retail by itself is not immune to price fixing. Last year the government here in the USA arrested the head of one of the tomato processors for fixing prices and then bribing the buyers of the retail chains to purchase the tomato at inflated prices. Since GoI seems to be bewildered about the cause of surging food prices, as a first step, the government should come out with a white paper that goes the reasons into why food prices are increasing.