WB Minister urges Processed Food
Exporters to extend market reach
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From left, are Mr. Pravin Saraf, FIEO MC Member; Mr. S K Jain; Hon’ble Minister for Food Processing Industries & Horticulture Deptt. of WB Mr. Mohanta Chatterjee; Mr. Sanjeev Chopra and Mr. U. B. Ranadive, Chief Surveyor, Indian Register of Shipping |
West Bengal Minister for Food Processing Industries and Horticulture, Mr. Mohanta Chatterjee says that his government is setting up an entire chain of food processing industry, from infrastructure to export of final produce, in the state. In an interactive meeting with exporters at Kolkata on 30th August, Mr. Chatterjee listed out various incentives offered by his government to investors in the food processing sector and urged export houses to take advantage of these incentives to extend their market reach. He said his government recognizes that the eastern region has a vast stretch of fertile land and has different climatic zones to grow three different crops in a year.
The Minister felt that the weightage awarded to food product exports from India was abysmally low and called for urgent efforts to step up the export of processed food from the region. He said: "Food Products exports are part of Category A exports which comprise of machinery, telecom, computer, automotive & other transport equipment and fuels, amongst others. Category A accounts for over 65% of world merchandise trade amounting to about US$ 6600 billion. India’s share in Category A exports is only 4% of this large market. The weightage awarded to Food Products in Category A exports is 6.3. Weightage awarded to food products exports from India is hardly 0.21%."
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Earlier, while welcoming the Minister and other dignitaries, the Eastern Region Chairman of FIEO, Mr. S. K. Jain said that the export of perishables from West Bengal had witnessed rapid increase in the recent past. "Vegetables like ladies fingers, french beans and gourds; seasonal fruits like mango, pineapple and jackfruit; and other items like flowers, meat, marine products etc. have seen tremendous export growth from the region," he said. To give further fillip to the export of perishables from the region, said Mr. Jain, various infrastructural inputs are required to be put in place. |
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Cross-section of the gathering |
On this occasion, Secretary in the West Bengal’s Food Processing Industries and Horticulture Ministry, Mr. Sanjeev Chopra gave an overview of the food processing industry in the state. Later, a presentation was made by Mr. Devendra Prasad, AGM, APEDA on the incentives provided for the sector by APEDA. This was followed by a presentation on quality systems by a representative of Indian Quality Register Systems (IRQS).
The meting was sponsored by IRQS, a department under the India Register of Shipping having headquarters in Mumbai. About 40 exporters joined the meeting.
