Speaking at the Agro Protech 2009 trade event, staged at Kolkata embassy agriculture counselor, Hans Wolff said: “The East and North-East states in India have growth potential in food processing and related sectors, and Netherlands being one of the global leaders in these sectors, can become investment or joint-venture partners with interested companies.”
Food safety standards
But, in order to become more competitive in the global food and agricultural industries, India needs to improve its product quality and maintain international food safety standards, he warned. It should also improve its infrastructure and logistics facilities.
Support for improving distribution systems came from Anisur Rahaman, minister responsible for rural development, government of West Bengal. More joint ventures and public private partnerships would help to improve both the quality and quantity of agricultural production, he said.
Naren De, minister for agriculture, government of West Bengal, said achieving 4-5 per cent growth in the agriculture sector depended on innovation. "Hybrid, high-yielding seeds and other modern agricultural technology inputs must reach the farmers, and a second green revolution is the call of the hour," said De.
The Indian Government has targeted the food processing sector as a major economic engine for growth. It has pledged to boost the domestic industry across all segments as well as encouraging joint ventures with foreign partners.
Food processing
Meanwhile, German company M/S Cancun Food Produces Limited plans to invest $4.5m in a new food processing unit in Bangladesh, reports Bangladesh Economic News.
The facility, to be owned by the Germany company, will employ nearly 400 people and be sited in the Adamjee Export Processing Zone, near Dhaka.
An agreement has been signed between Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and Cancun Food Produces Limited.
BEPZA is the government organization responsible for promoting and facilitating foreign investment in the export processing zones.