Paying fixed commissions to intermediaries will keep the food bill low

New delhi date. 23 November 2020, Monday

The Food Market of India (FCI) which used to pay commission in percentage based on support price for purchasing agricultural products from commission agents (aditya) from the country's Agriculture Market Produce Committee (APMC) mandis is now paying agents' commission. .

The reshuffle will reduce the cost of purchasing goods at support prices, FCI sources said.

In Punjab and Haryana, a fixed amount is being paid for the purchase of rice from the current season. This has also led to a reduction in the Centre's food subsidy bill.

Until now, FCI has paid a commission of 2.50 per cent on support prices for rice and wheat. But now the commission has been fixed at Rs 2.5 per quintal for paddy and Rs 4 for wheat, sources said.

Approximately 60 per cent of the 210 million tonnes of foodgrains procured at support prices in the country during the 2017-20 crop year (July-June) was procured from Punjab and Haryana.

Changing the method of payment of commissions is likely to ease the burden on the government, as commission payments also increase whenever support prices are raised, FCI sources said.