The state has freed trade in all commodities from the APMCs’ control. The state has freed trade in all commodities from the APMCs’ control.

The latest round of agricultural market reforms by the state government has considerably curtailed the power of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) which run the wholesale markets. While the APMCs earlier had the power to supervise and regulate trade in their talukas, the latest amendment stipulates that they can only do so in the market yard where they operate.

Earlier, the geographical area of operations of each APMC was defined by the state government through notifications. The committees were expected to facilitate trade and ensure implementation of the government-declared Minimum Support Price (MSP).

The amendment states, “The Market Committee shall not regulate the marketing of agricultural produce and livestock in its delineated market area. The Market Committee shall enforce regulation on marketing of agricultural produce and livestock within the principal market yard, sub-market yard and market sub-yard”.

The process of electing the board of directors of an APMC has also changed. Earlier they were elected by agricultural cooperative bodies, now they will be elected directly by farmers from the respective talukas. In 2015, the state government had carried out another major reform by delisting fruits and vegetables from these markets. The latest amendment takes this a step forward and allows free trade in all other commodities.

Earlier this year, the state government had said trade below the minimum support price (MSP) would be made a punishable offense, but had to put the plan on hold due to intense opposition. The government has maintained that these reforms are aimed at allowing farmers secure proper prices for their commodities.

With the latest amendment, the state government has freed trade in all commodities from the APMCs’ control. Officers of the state Agricultural Department said this move was necessary as some APMCs tended to collect cess from traders, without providing any facilities in return. “At least 50 markets in the state do collect cess… traders of cotton, bananas and mangoes, who deal with farmers directly, face most of the harassment,” said a senior officer of the department.

One of the immediate effects of this amendment would be felt in the trade of oilseeds and pulses. The cess from the wholesale trade of oilseeds and pulses is a major source of income for the mandis in Vidarbha and Marathwada. If the amendment hits the collection of cess, the financial viability of these markets will be in jeopardy.

The amendment is also likely to boost the trading prospects of direct marketing license (DML) holders and private markets, who focus mostly on commodities like soybean, cotton, tur and chana. Most of the markets in Marathwada and Vidarbha deal with trade in commodities.

Last year, DML holders had reported turnover of over Rs 2,600 crore while private markets had seen a trade of Rs 3,141.49 crore. Lalitbhai Shah, the president of Latur mandi, refused to comment about the amendment.

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