Union Budget 2010: Cold-storage incentives to attract fresh funds

producer of fruits and vegetables, industry officials said. Wastage of fruits and vegetables due to poor post-harvest management and lack of cold chain facilities have been estimated to cost up to Rs 500 billion annually, as reported in the fifth and final report of the National Commission of Farmers. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday announced number of schemes to attract investment in the sector as he wants to bring down "difference between the farm gate prices, wholesale prices and retail prices." "External Commercial Borrowings will henceforth be available for cold storage or cold room facility, including for farm level pre-cooling, for preservation or storage of agricultural and allied produce, marine products and meat," Mukherjee said. "Once money starts coming through ECB route the investment size would be larger, which will expand the sector significantly," said Anjani Sinha, managing director and chief executive of National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL). The government also announced concessional import duty and exemption of service taxes for installation and commissioning equipment to promote mechanised handling in spot market.