Bengal’s booming processed food market highlighted at India Int’l Mega Trade Fair

Kolkata: State Industry, Commerce and Enterprises minister Shashi Panja underscored the demand for investment particularly in the food processing sector in the state in the backdrop of Bengal’s spending on processed food being double than the national average.

“Bengal’s spending on processed food is 21 -25 per cent while the national average is 9.6 per cent according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. An urban resident in Bengal spends almost Rs 25 everyday on processed food and beverages while a rural resident spends almost 20. This shows a good consumption of such food so definitely the demand

is there,” Panja said at the inauguration of the 23rd Edition of India International Mega Trade Fair (IIMTF) 2024 jointly organized by The Bengal Chamber and GS Marketing.

This year more than 25 foreign countries along with nearly all Indian states are participating in the Fair. Afghanisthan and Thailand are the Partner Country and Turkey and Tunisia are the Focus Country, and Kashmir and Jharkhand are the Partner State with Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh are the focus state for this year fair.

“Bengal is one of the most dynamic economies which offers a robust consumer base of almost nine crores and we continue to say this that it’s the gateway to northeast India and to the southeast Asia too. This is how we are positioned due to our geographic location. The success of the mega trade fair also reflects the success of the trade and retail and commerce story of Bengal,” added Panja.

IIMTF is featuring around 1025 stalls across segments like food, clothing, furniture, interior, electronic appliances, healthCare, cosmetics & lifestyle, handicrafts & consumer durables wares from across the world. The Fair will continue till January 6.

Subrata Gupta , Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India was also present at the inaugural programme.