The government today denied the opposition allegations of mismanagement of food grains and the failure to contain their prices.

Replying to supplementary during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Food and Public distribution Prof. K V Thomas said the country is handling 62 million tonnes of food grains and their damages have come down from 2.5 per cent five years ago to 0.06 per cent at present.

He said the prices of food grains are almost steady although the Minimum Support Price (MSP) price has been doubled during the last two years.

However, the Central Issue price has remained constant. Giving the retail prices of vegetables including potatoes and onions, the Minister said the fluctuation is due to mismatch between their demand and supply.

To a specific question, whether the government is planning to ban future trading, Prof. Thomas said this issue is concerned with the policy and the state governments have to be consulted.

The Minister said the sugar production in the country this year is estimated at 265 lakh tonnes out of which 200 lakh tonnes are used for Public Distribution System.

He said 40 lakh tonnes of sugar is being exported to enable the millers to pay their dues to the sugarcane farmers.