Reduce market fee, rural fund charges: Rice exporters to Haryana govt

Parveen Arora

Karnal, January 15

The hike in market fee and increase in charges of Haryana Rural Development Fund (HRDF) by the state government have not gone down well with rice exporters of the state. They have demanded that the government should provide benefits to the rice industry for its survival in this hard time, instead of increasing taxes.

Expenses maximum in haryana

In Haryana, we have to pay 6.5% expenses comprising 2.5% ‘dami’, 2% market fee and 2% HRDF. But in Punjab, the exporters pay only 4.5% — 2.5% ‘dami’, 1% each of market fee and RDF. In Delhi, UP and Uttarakhand, total expenditure is 3%, in MP 1.7% and in Rajasthan 3.6%. Vijay Setia, Ex-chief, all-India rice exporters association

Demanding a level-playing field on a par with the exporters of neighbouring states, the Haryana Rice Exporters Association (HREA) has sent a memorandum to CM Khattar apprising him of the “discrepancies” in the total expenses comprising market fee, commission and HRDF in comparison to other states.

“We are facing tough competition from neighbouring countries in the international market. We are also at a disadvantage as compared to neighbouring states’ rice exporters as we have to pay high market fee, HRDF and dami (commission),” said Vijay Setia, former president of the All-India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA).

“Haryana is a major contributor in rice export, but here, the market fee and other expenses are higher than in the neighbouring competing states. We have to pay 6.5 per cent expenses comprising 2.5 per cent ‘dami’, 2 per cent market fee and 2 per cent HRDF. But in Punjab, the exporters pay only 4.5 per cent including 2.5 per cent ‘dami’, 1 per cent each of market fee and RDF,” he said.

Sushil Jain, president of HREA, said that with a substantial difference in all the expenses, the rice exporters in Haryana are facing discrimination. “The hike in fee will affect the industry. We should be provided a level-playing field with the exporters of other states to enable us to compete in the international market. We request the government to reduce the market fee from 2 per cent to 1 per cent and HRDF on basmati paddy from 2 per cent to 0.5 per cent,” he said.