Cooperation between India and Canada in Food Processing Sector

The Minister of Food Processing Industries Sh. Subodh Kant Sahai has said that during the recent visit of Canadian Agriculture Minister there was discussion for enhancing cooperation between Canada and India in the field of food processing.

He said, a meeting was convened between the concerned ministers of both the countries on 17th September 2010 in New Delhi. The thrust of the discussion was on India offering great opportunity for investment on account of number of factors like its huge agricultural/horticultural production, strategic location, huge market and India having the potentials to become a processing hub in this part of the world. The Canadian side was informed that investment in of the Mega Food parks of India would be appropriate destination for Canadian investment.

The Canadian side have agreed that they would be ready to share their expertise in the storage/handling of easy to store crops like oilseeds and wheat. It was further informed that India requires processable varieties of various agricultural & horticulture crops if the food sector is to grow. The focus has to be on whole value chain i.e. processing, storage and handling. Discussions were held for building of an inclusive model of retail as increased processing will lead to market driven farming and growth in the income levels of the farmers.

Replying to a question in Rajya Sabha recently the Minister said details of concrete results cannot be enumerated immediately as outcome of the bilateral cooperation between the two countries are known over a period of time.

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