"We discussed various options and a final decision will be taken soon," Consumer Affairs Minister Shanta Kumar said immediately after the GoM meeting here. The government was spending Rs 4,000 crore annually to deal with the excess foodgrains, Kumar said. Among the options discussed by the GoM for disposing of about 180 lakh tonnes of surplus stock over and above the buffer limit included enhancement of supply limits under PDS to people below poverty line (BPL) and using the stock under the centrally sponsored food for work schemes. The GOM is likely to meet again next month to finalise its recommendations, sources said. At its last meeting on October 17, the empowered group also discussed export of surplus stock at internationally competitive prices.

In view of the high domestic prices of foodgrains, the government was considering lowering them to compete in the international market, said Kumar adding this may help in reducing the surplus stock. Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Nitish Kumar has maintained that the full potential of India's food processing industry can be tapped through reforms in the tax structure and legislations as well as stringent quality control.

Currently, the post-harvest food wastage is in the region of around 40 per cent, while value-addition is hardly seven percent. "With the opening of the global markets, we will be in a position to derive maximum advantage in case our food processing sector is appropriately developed," Kumar said recently inaugurating a Conference on National Policy on Food Processing, adding that the industry needed to change its attitude and approach to food processing.