Hyderabad, Jan 9 (Agency) India needs to build more global food brands, said Commerce and Industry Minister additional Secretary Rajesh Agarwal here on Sunday. Speaking after inaugurating a 3-day biggest edition of IndusFood 2023, the largest integrated F&B trade show in South Asia here Rajesh said though we are doing well on the agri exports front, we are still far behind our true potential. “India’s agri exports today stand at 50bn US $, however our share of processed food is less than 1 per cent share in exports of processed food category,” he said.
“We must aspire to take up our share in the global market to 10 to 15per cent,” he told industry leaders. He said Indus Show made tremendous progress in the past six years, because of the entrepreneurial zeal of Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI), who conceived the show. “It is a unique show and a strong platform. We must make it big and the best in the world in the years to come,” he said. Rajesh lamented that India is still unable to create global brands in the F& B industry. “Ideally, we need to create 50 brands, then we will be able to do our job well. We must think globally and build brands. We must pay serious attention to how to promote Indian cuisine abroad” he said. The UN General Assembly declared 2023 as the year of Millets at the instance of India. He said that Prime Minister made a strong argument for this. “Now we have a huge opportunity. India is the major producer of millets. Use this opportunity, showcase to the world Indian strengths in millets, its nutritious values, and taste. Package it well. It will open new doors of opportunities,” he said.
“Another challenge is how to promote authentic Indian cuisine? He asked and added that we don’t have chefs who are experts in authentic cuisines. So we must promote skill development in this field. Under free trade agreement with Australia, we made sure that it gives 1880 annual visas to Yoga teachers and chefs,” he shared. “Our role at Government is to provide a level playing field for equitable market access globally. We entered bilateral agreements between various nations to help the industry. If you have any pain points, problem areas and need policy interventions, please let us know. We will do the needful,” the Union Additional Secretary told the industry representatives. He told the Trade Promotion Council of India to have a research hub in its systems to resolve any problems confronting the industry. Speaking on the occasion, Union Joint Secretary Dr Srikar K Reddy while highlighting various initiatives of the government in helping the industry, said the year 2022 was significant in terms of exports and saw US $ 400 bn worth exports and it rose to 422 billion subsequently. The two bilateral agreements entered in the recent past with Australia and UAE augur good for the industry.
The Government of India is supporting the promotion of ethnic food by way of setting up In his welcome address, Mohit Singla, Founder Chairman TPCI said over the past six years, IndusFood has become the sole catalyst for robust growth in India’s processed food exports, by ensuring direct linkages for Indian F&B exporters with global buyers. It is the largest ever edition held so far. One of the major features of this year is the presence of mainstream buyers in large numbers, which has so far been a critical challenge for Indian exporters. Indusfood has been able to bring institutional buyers from the remotest corners like French Guinea, Mangolia, Papua New Guinea, Reunion, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sint Maarten, Syria, Togo and Turkenistan, he said. This year with exclusive focus is on millets. So IndusFood is showcasing millet-based value-added products.India is globally regarded as the land of Vegetarian food with a huge variety of products. So, we have also been focusing on plant-based protein, he said. During January-October, 2022, processed food product exports have further accelerated by 32% YoY to reach US$ 8.6 billion. “We are positive that Indusfood 2023 will play a catalytic role in building on this strong growth momentum both internationally and in the domestic market,” Singla added. The first ever edition in Telangana is hosting 1,300+ world class buyers from 80 plus countries interfacing with 600+ Indian exhibitors. The three-day event is expected to negotiate aggregate business deals worth US$ 1 billion+.
Nearly 50 plus global food retail chain brands and their representatives are taking part in the exhibition. Top global sourcing giants of the F&B industry registered such as – Mohamed Mustafa & Samsuddin Co Pte Ltd (Singapore), Shrijees Supermarket (Tanzania), Apna Bazar (US), Grand Hyper (UAE), Nesto (UAE), Choithrams (UAE), Lulu Group International (UAE), Noon.com (UAE), City Centre Central Markets (Kuwait), Babasons WII (Bahrain) and many more will be visiting the show. Telangana state has a separate pavilion where over 11 MSMEs are showcasing their products. Rajesh Agrawal and Dr Srikar Reddy also inaugurated Telangana pavilion in the presence of Telangana Principal Secretary (industries) Jayesh Ranjan.