Cabinet gives green signal for amendments to EC Act to deregulate food items

04 Jun 2020 Evaluate
With and aim to transform the farm sector and raising farmers' income, the Union Cabinet has given green signal for amendments to the six-and-a-half-decade old Essential Commodities (EC) Act to deregulate food items. The amendment provides for the regulation of food items only under exceptional circumstances like national calamities, famine with a surge in prices. Also, processors and value chain participants are exempted from the stock limit.

The government said with the amendment to the EC Act, commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes will be removed from the list of essential commodities. The freedom to produce, hold, move, distribute and supply will lead to harnessing economies of scale and attract private sector/foreign direct investment into the agriculture sector. It will help drive up investment in cold storages and modernization of the food supply chain.

The government further said that while liberalizing the regulatory environment has also ensured that the interest of consumers is safeguarded. It has been provided in the Amendment, that in situations such as war, famine, extraordinary price rise and natural calamity, such agricultural foodstuff can be regulated. However, the installed capacity of a value chain participant and the export demand of an exporter will remain exempted from such stock limit imposition so as to ensure that investments in agriculture are not discouraged. It added that the amendment announced will help both farmers and consumers while bringing in price stability. It will also prevent wastage of agri-produce that happens due to lack of storage facilities.

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