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The Gujarat government on Tuesday allowed farmers to sell fruits and vegetables in open market, enabling them to get competitive prices for their agricultural produce. The government also relaxed the rules of compulsory license for traders to buy fruits and vegetables. Traders need not pay market fees to the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) for buying fruits and vegetables from farmers.
The announcement was made by the director of agriculture marketing and rural finance of the state's agriculture and cooperative department on Tuesday.
Buyers will have to pay minimum user charges of 30 paisa and maximum Rs 2 for every purchase of Rs 100 to use facilities of APMC.
According to the release, as the agriculture produce fell under controlled commodities, farmers could only sell to licensed traders and because of this, some traders formed cartels to buy at lower prices. After removing fruits and vegetables from controlled commodities, farmers can now get better price and this will also benefit customers.
