Bhubaneswar, April 3: The Federation of All Odisha Traders' Associations (FAOTA) today called off their strike following a general body meeting here.

The traders had stopped procuring essential commodities from April 1 to protest against the imposition of five per cent value added tax (VAT) on these products.

Odisha procures pulses, wheat and wheat products from other states. It consumes about 67,000 metric tonnes of pulses and 12,000 metric tonnes of wheat products every month.

The traders' body called the meeting after discussions with finance minister Pradip Amat yesterday, where he assured them that the government would discuss the matter of VAT waiver after the budget session was over on May 26. The state government also gave a written assurance to this effect following which the traders agreed to call off their strike.

FAOTA general secretary Sudhakar Panda said they had deferred the strike to May 27. "We may resume the strike if the government does not fulfil our demand to waive the tax after the budget session," he said.

Panda said the procurement process of essential commodities from other states would resume from today. "It will take around two days for the booked food grains to reach the state. At present, there are adequate stocks to manage for a week," he added.

Panda said they would take action if they found any trader charging higher rates for the essential commodities taking advantage of the situation.

Food supplies and consumer welfare minister Sanjay Das Burma said the finance department had constituted a committee to examine the traders' demands.

Last year, the traders had gone on a five-day strike on the same demand. They called off the strike after the government constituted a committee and sought time to examine their demand.