KARACHI, Dec 19: The Sindh government plans to privatise functions of market committees to regulate marketing of fruits and vegetables to safeguard interests of traders, growers and exporters.

The ministry of agriculture has held discussions on the subject with the stakeholders to hand over the market committees functions to the private sector under a public-private partnership arrangement for smooth marketing of fruits, vegetable and grains.The idea will be further debated in stakeholders’ meetings with the chairman of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Zafar Altaf on Nov 22.

Giving details of the plan, Agriculture Secretary Subhago Khan Jatoi told Dawn that under the new arrangement private sector would be allowed to set up fruits and vegetable markets, which would be notified by the ministry.

He said that if a party is interested to set up a vegetable and fruit market, for example in Tandojam, the government will notify only that building or premises where the market has been set up.

The privatisation of market committees will provide growers a direct access to big stores and markets to sell their produce. The department has already given permission to Makro Stores in Karachi to serve as a notified market place for fruits and vegetables.

The privatisation of marketing system for fruits and vegetables would provide a level-playing field to all stakeholders, and growers would be free to transport and sell their produce anywhere in the province.

The growers would also be spared from payment of market committee fee to market on their produce. The ministry is holding a seminar in Karachi on Dec 24 to discuss the proposal in details.

The market committees were set up under Agriculture Produce Marketing Act of 1939 and their function was to regulate marketing of fruits and vegetables. However, there were serious complaints of distortion and corruption against over 100 such committees in the province. These committee over the years turned into venues of political appointments and employment to the favourites.

Vegetable markets set up under these committees in big cities, like Karachi, Hyderabad, also drew complaints of serious corruption in allotment of shops and mismanagement which finally led the government to initiate a plan to hand over the functions to the private sector.

Anwer Bachani, a leading grower, said that the market committees have failed to protect the interests of growers.

He said that the Asian Bank has also submitted proposals for privatisation of marketing committees, which along with a proposal from the Sindh government is being discussed at various levels. There is a consensus among stakeholders on the plan, which would be finalised after discussions with the growers and exporters.

Meanwhile, Chairman, Sindh Abadgar Board, Majeed Nizamani, told Dawn that the board had no objection to the new plan but it should be run with genuine marketing rules in letter and spirit.

He said that about a decade ago a contract system in market committees was introduced, which resulted in great miseries to not only growers but to the general public as contractors charged fee even on movement of food items needed for a household.

He suggested that the notified area should be restricted to the premises of markets and should not be stretched to entire tehsils, which have rice and sugar mills and cotton ginneries.