By Rina Chandran
SIRHIND, India (Reuters) - Lush green fields greet visitors to the agricultural heartland in Punjab, some dotted with tall bundles of paddy covered with black tarpaulin, exposed to the sun, the occasional thundershower and rodents.
A couple of hours away, workers wearing green hair nets and aprons clean and sort peas, tomatoes and potatoes in a 10,000-sq.ft. facility leased by Wal-Mart Stores, which ships vegetables and fruits to 28 supermarkets and a Wal-Mart wholesale store within hours of being picked in the fields.
India's woefully inadequate storage and processing facilities are in sharp focus as the country battles high food inflation, and with rising chatter about opening up retail to foreign firms such as Wal-Mart, Tesco and Carrefour which have the resources and knowledge to build a supply chain.
Waste due to poor post-harvest management, including lack of storage, is estimated at nearly 40 percent of total output in India, costing about 500 billion rupees ($11 billion) a year.
But it is a tough task, given the poor infrastructure, vast regional differences and laws limiting foreign firms to cash-and-carry wholesale outlets and franchise tie-ups with local partners in the $450 billion retail market. Link
