German envoy urges K'taka to amend APMC Act

German Ambassador to India Bernd Muetzelburg has urged the Karnataka government to amend the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act at the earliest.

Bernd Muetzelburg, who took charge as ambassador four months ago, was on a tour of Karnataka recently to exchange views on business prospects and issues facing German companies numbering 80 in Bangalore.

Speaking to reporters here, he said that amendment to the APMC Act facilitates wholesale trading of agricultural goods outside the APMC yard.

"This encourages companies like Metro Cash & Carry, as it helps improve the Indian agri-supply chain through training of farmers and infrastructure creation in rural areas. If the Act is amended, it will also help farmers to realise directly from the end users," he added.

Harsh Bahadur, MD, Metro Cash and Carry India, said Metro is stocking and selling Indian manufactured goods up to as high as 95 per cent. With delayed APMC Act amendment, the company's 20 to 25 per cent business is blocked, he added.

At present, 11 state governments have amended the Act and have allowed foreign companies to build and operate agri-supply chain.

"It is these encouraging signals that have led us to set up three centres at Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai (Rs 80-100 crore per centre) in eight to nine months," he said.

The company is also planning its third distribution centre around Whitefield in Bangalore based on the APMC Act amendment. Metro claims to have close to 80,000 members for its two centres in Bangalore.