Letters: Direct benefits

There’s no doubt that foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail will benefit farmers and consumers. Since big retailers are expected to set up cold storage and transport facilities for agricultural products, it will reduce post-harvest losses of agricultural products. FDI in retail may hurt the interests of small traders since they will have to face competition from big players. But in the interest of consumers and farmers, small traders should be made to compete with bigger players. This will force small traders to be more transparent and honest in dealing with consumers, and check malpractices like adulteration and sale of sub-standard products.

P V Rajeev New Delhi

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