Rajasthan commodity traders end strike after govt relents on fee hike

A statewide strike by commodity traders in Rajasthan was called off on Wednesday night, hours after it began, following talks with Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma.

 

The strike, which disrupted business across 247 mandis, impacted around ₹10,000 crore worth of trade in a single day, according to industry estimates. Operations at 800 oil mills, 1,300 dal mills, 1,200 flour mills, and about 50 spice units came to a standstill.

 

Normal trading resumed across mandis (commodity markets) and processing units on Thursday morning.

 

The protest was triggered by the state government’s imposition of a 1 per cent Krishak Kalyan Fee on commodity transactions starting July 1. The Rajasthan Khadya Padarth Vyapar Sangh, which led the agitation, demanded that the levy be halved.

 

“We urged the government to reduce the fee to 0.5 per cent, and the Chief Minister agreed,” said Babulal Gupta, president of the Sangh.

 

Traders also pressed for a cut in mandi cess on agricultural goods brought in from outside the state and an increase in commission on coarse grains from the current 1 per cent to 2.25 per cent. Talks on these demands are still underway, Gupta added. 

 

The breakthrough came during a meeting with Chief Minister Sharma on Wednesday night, where he accepted the key demand and appealed to traders to end the strike.

 

“Following the CM’s assurance, we withdrew the four-day strike call the same night,” Gupta said.

 

Originally slated to run from July 2 to July 5, the strike was marked by widespread protests and complete shutdown of trading activity. Agricultural goods from other states did not enter Rajasthan during the day, and most shops in mandis remained shuttered.

 

This is not the first time traders have raised objections to these levies. A similar week-long strike was staged in March over the same issues. While that protest was suspended after assurances from the Agriculture Department, the latest move came after the government implemented the new fees without resolving pending concerns.