The trading community, represented by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), has expressed “utter dismay” over the reported letter written by Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to open FDI in multi-brand retail of food and food products “on the pretext of reducing wastage and farm diversification.

In a statement, CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said: "It appears that perhaps Ms Badal has not taken cognisance of the report of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) released in 2010 which stated that food wastage in India is merely 0.8% to 10% which is not that much alarming for which we need MNCs".

Khandelwal reminded the Modi government of its commitment to not allow FDI in retail, adding that any such move “to allow MNCs into Indian retail trade will amount betrayal of confidence of the small businesses in India,”

CAIT said it intends to present a copy of the ICAR report to Badal and would urge her to have a “holistic and comprehensive view since the issue is very sensitive and has vital bearing on livelihood of millions of people in India.”

The traders body also urged the government to issue a White Paper on foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail, adding that the “arguments advanced in favour of allowing FDI in retail are based merely on assumptions without considering the fallout of such global retailers in countries like USA, UK, and Europe etc. where these retailers have failed to provide any advantage to the respective country.”

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