While the minister expressed confidence that the state government would be able to make the transition smoothly, commission agents and traders said they would go on an indefinite strike if the state government went ahead with the move.
Delisting of fruits and vegetables from the APMC would mean open access for farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the state. The move is aimed at removing the monopoly of the traders and commission agents in the trade of fruits and vegetables.
While the previous Congress-NCP government had tried to go for delisting, they were not able to do so due to the strong opposition from the commission agents and traders alike.
Patil said the total turnover of the over 300 APMCs in the state was around Rs 500 billion, of which fruits and vegetables contributed around Rs 100 billion. Delisting this, he said, would not result in much financial loss to the commission agents and the traders but would mean great financial gains for the farmers.
The state government, Patil said, was ready to handle any law and order issues arising from the protests of commission agents and traders in a peaceful but firm manner.
However, traders and commission agents seemed firm on the strike if the government goes ahead with the delisting.
