While foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail has got the nod of both Houses of Parliament, and the move is likely to augment cold storage and supply chain infrastructure in the country, traders from the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), Mumbai, are planning to go ahead with building their own cold storage facilities. Sanjay Pansare, APMC director, is confident, the traders' community is efficient enough to do so.
A trader from the APMC fruit market said on the condition of anonymity, “If Sharad Pawar supports multi-national retail giants like Walmart and Tesco, we will stand against him.” He said the traders would support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and not the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government if MNCs entered the Indian market.
“Indian traders have the capacity to build cold storage in the country, but owing to the an inadequate policy, such initiatives never take off,” Kirti Rana, director, APMC's spice market, said. He added that the government seems to be supporting foreign companies because several business houses have their own interest.
Though they are not planning to bring the market to a standstill by going on a strike, they will continue to lobby against FDI. Pansare recalled that delegates from overseas have visited the APMC and praised the market and delivery system. “During their visits, the foreign delegations have stated that FDI will not help farmers, but some companies would make money,” he said.
