Cashew export and payment of ‘market fees’
IN an unprecedented
action, the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), Mangalore, has seized 113 tins
of cashew kernel worth Rs 3 lakh from two exporters and has sent notices to major cashew
kernel exporters seeking payment of "market fee". It has threatened to auction
off the entire amount unless both exporters pay Rs 3 lakh each, within the next 10 days,
as market fee which the APMC is demanding with retrospective effect from ’92.
While the APMC
normally regulates the domestic market, this is the first time cashew kernel exporters are
being targeted for not shelling out market fees. The goods were confiscated from Achal
Industries and Kalbavi Cashews, two of the major cashew kernel processors and exporters.
The consignments
seized were cashew kernels meant for exporting and held in stock. They formed part of
current production for the two producers, as reported from Banglore Bureau.
APMC notice demands
that the market fee be paid on total sales of the producers, irrespective of whether the
goods were sold in India or abroad. |
