TN planning three agro-processing corridors in state

Chennai:

In a bid to enhance the growth of food processing industry in Tamil Nadu, the state government is planning to set up three agro-processing corridors in the state.

Delivering the inaugural address of Confederation of Indian Industry’s Foodpro 2013 Exhibition and Conference on Technologies for Value Added Food Product Development, State agriculture secretary Sandeep Saxena said that the state will be setting up the corridors in Madurai-Thoothkudi belt, Coimbatore-Dindugal belt and Kanchipuram-Villupuram belt.

He said the state government is working towards making the farmers a stakeholder in the food processing industry in a bid to ensure inclusive growth. “The government can act as a facilitator between growers and producers,” he said.

Saxena said that the state government will bear 25 per cent of equity share of farmers in the agro-processing industry in a bid to make them a stakeholder in the sector. He also sought more investment from the private sector to realise the goals of the 2023 Vision document.

The exhibition was inaugurated by state Agriculture Minister S Damodaran.

Australian trade commissioner Michael Carter said that Australia has a strategic intention for direct collaboration with Tamil Nadu in fishing, aquaculture, dairy farming and horticulture.

He also said that Australia is keen on making the Tamil Nadu coast the hub for lobsters and yellow-fin tuna.

“We already had discussion with the state government,”he said. Interestingly, the yellow fin tuna project is also being tried out in neighbouring Kerala.

During the conference, CII experts from food processing industry also interacted with the media. Piruz Khambatta, chairman of national committee on food processing and managing director of Rasna Private Limited said that agro food processing sector could help combat the inflation. He said while the prices of fruits and vegetables have gone up, the processed food prices have been more or less the same.

He said the processed food market is growing by 14 to 15 per cent and is more than 66,000 crore. However, these figures does not include the small and medium size companies and the unorganised sector.

While welcoming the foreign direct investment in food processing sector, Khambatta also expressed CII apprehensions about foreign companies dumping goods in Indian market. Some of the products they dumped were expired goods. Due to our intervention, the government has passed an order than any imported goods should have a residual life of 60 per cent.

Interestingly, Khambatta expressed over the introduction of Goods and Services Tax which he said would result in increase in the cost of all processed food. He said government should not levy any tax on processed food.

More than 150 exhibitors from across the globe are participating in the three-day Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) 10th edition of the Indian Food Processing & Food Technology Fair - Foodpro 2013.