India mulling labeling of products with country of origin

India's federal government is mulling to make it mandatory for all e-tailers and e-commerce platforms operating in the country, like Amazon, Flipkart, etc., to mention the name of the country of origin on all products, an official privy to the matter told Xinhua on Thursday.

According to him, a meeting in this regard was held in the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday in which all concerned stakeholders participated. A final decision is yet to be taken.

Labeling of products, including country of origin, has already been implemented for products sold through government-run trading platform Government e-Market (GeM).

The move would enable the consumers to have a choice between local and imported goods.

Manasvi Srivastava of consulting firm KPMG said that it was good move.

"From the point of view of providing a customer informed choice, prescribing country of origin labelling on products sold in India would be a good move. Similar requirements exist in other countries like U.S. and South Korea. There would be need for regulatory and administrative clarity on the matter before implementing such a change," English daily "Hindustan Times" quoted Srivastava as saying.

According to him, the move will also help in framing trade policies.

"There would be a shift in the pattern of trade flows between India and countries exporting to India, as customers begin to exercise informed preferences. This would make it possible for the government of India to exercise and enforce policy options on external and internal trade better," he said.

(XINHUA)