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Our Bureau

Kolkata, Oct. 10

The West Bengal Government on Friday granted the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) licence to the German wholesale major Metro Cash & Carry India. With this, the company’s first outlet in Kolkata is set to be fully operational within the next six to eight weeks.

The licence is valid for a period of one year beginning today. It has been issued, albeit with a few riders, by the West Bengal State Agriculture Marketing Board.

The buyers will have to be traders holding valid trade licences. The company cannot engage in any kind of retail trade. No contract farming has been permitted and this will be applicable to animal husbandry, pissiculture, floriculture, and so on.

Metro Cash & Carry has already invested Rs 140 crore in its Kolkata facility. The company had planned to invest $120 million on setting up four Cash & Carry wholesale centres in Kolkata alone. Around 350 people have been recruited and trained to serve the company’s business customers in the city.

The Kolkata outlet has a selling space of 100,000 sq. ft and will have on offer 18,000 food and non-food articles, with special emphasis on fresh produce and farm products.

It may be recalled that the West Bengal State Agriculture Marketing Board had granted a licence to Metro Cash & Carry to trade in APMC commodities in 2005. This was, subsequently, renewed twice in 2006 and 2007, and was to be valid till March 2008.

However, in June 2007, the licence was withdrawn by the authorities. The grant of the APMC licence today follows the intervention of the Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, in the matter.

More Stories on : Retailing | Policy | West Bengal

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