Bengal will take part in the World Food India (WFI) 2017 as 'Focus State' and "take full advantage" of the platform that the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries has created, said Nandini Chakrabarty, secretary, Food Processing Industries and Horticulture.
She was speaking at a road show organised by CII ahead of the World Food India 2017 scheduled to be held in New Delhi from November 3-5 November, 2017.
Sanjeev Chopra, additional chief secretary, Agriculture, felt the state's participation in the WFI 2017 will be a "golden moment" for Bengal to showcase its potential as well as the huge success it has achieved in the sector. "It will be a platform to showcase its innovative food processing methods too," he said.
J P Meena, Secretary to the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), WFI 2017, chose to add Bengal's "enterprising farmers" to the list. "WFI 2017, which will be the largest of its kind held in this country, will be a wonderful opportunity for stakeholders in Bengal to interact and network with global and Indian leaders across the food value chain.
"WFI will also provide global businesses with a platform to explore Indian market across the value chain in food processing and allied industries as well as in food retail," he said.
Meena also said the growth of the food processing industry in India is higher than the GDP growth. "The exports of the products earned a foreign exchange of USD31 bn in 2016-17. We hope to maintain the same growth rate," he explained.
Chakrabarty said the state government is also thinking of a mix of cold storage infrastructure from reefer vans, pack houses, cold storages to small traditional methods of storage with necessary innovations which are energy efficient and light and easy to maintain.
"The state is preparing an agribusiness and food processing logistics blueprint. The packhouse in Malda is now operational. We have seen an increase in exports of mangoes and litchis from the state by more than 40 percent this year. The pack house has pre cooling chambers, cold storage units and hot water immersion treatment facilities," she said.
"The Barasat Packhouse is also expected to be operational soon. We will, in consultation with Apeda, set up a VHT facility adjacent to it. We intend to make the Irradiation facility at Chinsurah in Hooghly operational by the end of the year. The perishable cargo complex at Bagdogra is also expected to be operational at a very early date," she added.