Naidu, Goyal discuss trade, farm woes

Amaravati

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu met Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday to discuss several pressing issues impacting the state’s agriculture, trade, and export sectors.

During the meeting, Naidu sought financial support from the Centre for tobacco procurement through the Tobacco Board. He requested ₹150 crore as the state government is currently bearing a burden of ₹300 crore to procure 20 million kg of HD Burley tobacco due to a sharp decline in market prices. An official release from the Chief Minister’s Office stated, “The Centre must share this burden by contributing ₹150 crore.”

Naidu also expressed concerns over the reduced import duty on palm oil, saying it has led to a price crash and is severely impacting domestic oilseed farmers. He emphasized that this trend contradicts the Centre’s goal of achieving self-sufficiency in edible oil production.

Raising another critical issue, the Chief Minister highlighted the 27% seafood import duty imposed by the United States, affecting nearly eight lakh aquaculture farmers in the state. He urged the Union Minister to initiate talks with U.S. authorities to resolve the matter.

Naidu also pushed for a reduction in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on mango pulp from 12% to 5%, noting that the issue has already been raised with the Union Finance Minister. He further requested legal amendments to empower the Tobacco Board with greater regulatory and marketing authority, particularly in centres like Bapatla, Guntur, Palnadu, and Prakasam.