IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a $20million financing to METRO Wholesale Myanmar Limited to help create jobs, raise food safety standards, and benefit the country’s food suppliers, buyers, and consumers.
METRO Wholesale Myanmar offers a one-stop wholesale food service distribution for hotels, restaurants, catering firms, independent small retailers, and offices. It is a joint venture partnership between METRO AG, a leading global specialist in wholesale food and Yoma Strategic Holdings Limited, a publicly listed business corporation in Singapore with a diversified portfolio of businesses in real estate, consumer, and financial services in Myanmar.
Progress in the agricultural sector was directly responsible for at least 46% of the reduction in poverty between 2005-2015 in Myanmar. With IFC’s investment, METRO Wholesale Myanmar will drive up agricultural incomes and help reduce poverty as well as improve the quality and availability of local produce, benefiting buyers and end consumers. It will help METRO Wholesale Myanmar source majority of its produce from local farmers and companies, raising food safety standards and creating more than 300 jobs for both women and men and significant indirect employment in food processing and logistics services.
“IFC’s investment in METRO Wholesale Myanmar is another affirmation of our commitment to improve the quality of agricultural produce in Myanmar. The aim is to ensure the availability of safe, high-quality foods from the farm to fork, increasing the agribusiness sector’s export potential,” said Vikram Kumar, IFC Country Manager for Myanmar and Thailand. He added, “This investment has already contributed to promoting inclusive growth as it is benefitting farmers and will eventually benefiting small and medium enterprises, and service providers along the value chain, thereby creating more jobs.”
METRO Wholesale Myanmar is one of the first companies in the sector to adopt energy efficient building standards.
IFC is already working with local food producers and the Myanmar government to provide training in food safety management systems, reforming regulations, and improving business environment in the agribusiness sector. Since 2013 IFC has invested and mobilized over $1.3 billion in Myanmar.
Original source: IFC
Published on 28 February 2019
