West Bengal’s newly elected government headed by Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress (TMC) has sought advice from the Keventer Group on the amendment of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act.
The proposal, which is slated to be submitted within a fortnight, is to be inclusive of the views representative of major retail players including Reliance, Metro Cash & Carry and Aditya Birla-More, said Mayank Jalan, managing director, Keventer Agro.
“We are drafting an opinion which will comprise the industry views, along with the legalities intrinsic to the change in the amendment. For this purpose we have engaged a legal firm drafting our proposals as well,” Jalan said.
Keventer will be the sole representative of all three major retail players in lieu of the fact that Keventer is a major vendor for all three would hence be representative of their and the overall industry interests, according to Jalan.
“We are the prime vendors to all large retail chains and will keep their interests at heart when we draft out proposals. Personally, I think the APMC Act is outdated and hence needs to go. This however, has to happen in a phased manner,” he said.
That the industry has been pitching for the amendment to the APMC Act is well known. The amendment would allow big retailers like Reliance direct access to farmers allowing them to control the supply chains and set up private mandis.
Keventer to invest Rs 2000 crore in real estate, infra, food processing and acquisitions
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Kolkata-based Keventer Group is going to invest Rs 2,000 crore in real estate and food processing infrastructure development along with acquisitions over the next five years, Jalan said here today.
Of the Rs 2000 crore, Rs 900 crore would be earmarked for expansion in real estate and infrastructure spaces and the rest for acquisitions and greenfield expansion within the food processing arm.
The company has recently been sanctioned 125 acres near Bhagalpur in Bihar for setting up a food processing plant with an overall investment of Rs 200 crore, and has formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with Future Group who owns 35 per cent.
Besides this, Keventer is also a minor partner in two food parks, one in Karnatka, led by Future Group and one in Orissa led by the Mitz Group. It is also planning to develop two more food parks in north India over the next five years.
Of the Rs 1,200 crore set aside for expansion, a major chunk will be used for acquisitions, Jalan said. “We have shortlisted four companies, three in the dairy segment for acquisition. Of these we are in the due diligence stage for one. Ernst&Young and KPMG have been appointed consultants for the deals”, Jalan said. Also, of the Rs 1200 crore, Rs 120 crore will be invested toward the extension of the existing Keventer facility in Barasat.