Impact assessment of trade liberalisation in oilseeds sector: a case study of Rajasthan

This paper considers ways in which relevant stakeholders, including producers, intermediaries, and consumers will be able find answers as to how fast and effectively they can integrate themselves into a globalising/liberalising economy, given the recent removal of quantitative restrictions in some areas of trade. The paper focuses on one area in which these restrictions have been lifted: oilseed and edible oils - as a means to assess the impacts of policy changes would be felt over a wide range of society, in terms of prices, availability, access to the product, ability to buy, competition and employment generation etc.The paper:identifies main issues affecting international competitiveness of this sector, which are further classified in terms of their effects on import competition and export competitivenessidentifies policy/institutional measures to neutralise and/or reinforce the factors of competitivenessexamines policies that govern oilseeds/edible oil sector have been studies and examines them with respect to their compatibility with various WTO instrumentsfocuses on understanding how nodal agencies at the local state and national have been interacting on concerned issues pertaining to the identified sector.Some of the conclusions are:with regard to the trade in raw materials, oilseeds output is fluctuating alarmingly: yield rates are low; and farm-gate prices are depressed under pressure from low priced imported oilswith regard to oil processing, low priced imported oils eat into already fragile trade margins on domestic oilsin terms of supply of oilseed, new marketing developments are leading to restructuring in the biotechnology industry just as differentiated marketing networks have been developed to deliver new products and seed to farmers new marketing networks are evolving to deliver differentiated final product to end usersSome of the measures outlined by the author to protect the interest of stakeholders engaged in oil seeds and edible oils are:harmonise and standardise the taxation of oilseeds and their products, at a rate consistent with processing margins, such as replacing the sales taxes with an excise taxdecentralise the financial and management authority of regulated marketsestablish the policy framework necessary to promote private investment in market, storage, transport, and port infrastructureraise consumers’ awareness about health and quality concerns and oilseed processors appreciation of appropriate technologies and labelling