Punjab CM announces reduction in market, rural development fee for basmati

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announced reduction in the market development fee (MDF) and the rural development fee (RDF) rates, from 2% to 1% each

In the light of the provisions of the new agriculture bills, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday announced reduction in the market development fee (MDF) and the rural development fee (RDF) rates, from 2 per cent to 1 per cent each.

The move will help to keep Punjab Basmati competitive in the international markets and it will provide relief to the tune of Rs 100 crores to basmati traders/millers, according to an official spokesperson of the state government.

The Chief Minister's announcements came in response to a proposal of the Punjab Mandi Board, made after a thorough examination of the representations received from the Punjab Rice Millers and Exporters Association and the Punjab Basmati Rice Millers and Exporter Association.

According to a statement from Chief Minister's Office, the Punjab Rice Millers and Exporters Association had submitted that with the farm ordinances coming into force, the disparity in fees and other charges among the basmati producing states would be around 4 percent, thus making the rice industry in Punjab economically unviable as it would be unable to compete with Rice exporters in Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh which had totally exempted the market fees from agricultural produce.

Pointing to the excellent Mandi infrastructure network of the Punjab Mandi Board, the Association had urged the state government to implement 0.35 percent to 1 percent usage charges/mandi fees on the first purchase instead of all other charges that are currently levied, in order to keep the Punjab rice industry competitive viz-a-viz other states, it added.