Replying to a debate on rising prices, Food Minister S S Barnala announced a reduction in customs duty from 25 to 15 per cent on vegetable oils excluding coconut oil and palmolein. The duty reduction will come into force from tomorrow.

The imports will also be exempted from four per cent additional duty imposed in this year's Union Budget. The move is meant to contain prices during the festival season.

Admitting that there has been a major shortfall in production of both pulses and oilseeds during the current year, Barnala said the Government has plans to import edible oil from Malaysia and Indonesia.

He said there has been shortfall in production of groundnut oil by 16 lakh tonnes and mustard oil by seven lakh tonnes this year while sunflower and soyabean oil too were in short supply. Theshortfall in pulses production is around 40 lakh tonnes, he informed. He maintained that prices of cereals like wheat and rice were stable.

But dissatisfied with Barnala's reply, the entire Opposition walked out accusing the Government of failure to control the price hike.

Earlier, while initiating the discussion, CPI(M) member Basudeb Acharia accused the Government of trying to destroy the Public Distribution System (PDS), and said it should be expanded. He also criticised the proposal to deregulate sugar and wanted a temporary ban on export of essential commodities.

Acharia suggested a conference of chief ministers on containing price rise. A similar suggestion was also made by Bharatiya Janata Party-ally Mamata Bannerjee, Trinamool Congress chief. She said the Centre alone should not be blamed for hike in the prices of essential commodities.

Jagatveer Singh Dron (Bharatiya Janata Party) admitted that the prices had gone up, but maintained that it was a seasonal phenomenon. He added that unseasonalrains had damaged potato and onion crops, leading to increase in their prices.

He also blamed the previous Governments of not offering remunerative prices to fruit and vegetable growers, who then switched to other crops.

The MP said more cold storage facilities were needed to preserve the perishable commodities for longer periods and check fluctuation in their prices.

Samajwadi Party's Mohan Singh criticised the Government for failing to curb the activities of traders who smuggled foodgrains to neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal.

Former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav (Rashtriya Janata Dal) said, the Front he recently formed with Mulayam Singh Yadav will soon launch an agitation against rise in prices of essential commodities.