World Food India 2019 from Nov 1-4 in national capital to promote food processing sector

The World Food India event will be held during November 1-4 this year in the national capital as part of the government's effort to boost investment into this growing sector, Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said Monday.

This will be the second edition of World Food India, with first one held in 2017 that saw the participation of 61 countries and signing of MoUs worth USD 14 billion.

The World Food India 2019 will be held from November 1-4, 2019 in New Delhi and will position India as food processing destination of the World, Badal said in an official statement.

The grand event will be the biggest gathering of all global and domestic stakeholders in this sector, she said.

Badal on Monday chaired a meeting with various stakeholders, including the associated ministries and departments, CEOs of major food processing companies and industry associations.

She also held a meeting with the ambassadors/high commissioners of leading food processing/food retailing countries.

"The meetings were held to discuss the investment opportunities available in India in the food processing sector and to sensitize the gathering about their participation in WFI 2019," the statement said.

Minister of State for food processing industries Rameswar Teli attended the meeting.

Badal informed the gathering that the second edition of World Food India is planned at a much bigger and grandeur level at Vigyan Bhawan and Rajpath Lawns in the national capital.

The World Food India 2019 will consist of several top level seminars, investment opportunities, exhibitions, high level CEO roundtables, country sessions, B2B and B2G networking etc.

The ministry is targeting to partner with at least 15 countries and participation from at least 80 countries. The tagline of the event will be "Forging Partnerships for Growth".

Badal informed that preparations for the World Food India 2019 have already begun.

She said food processing sector is critical for achieving the Prime Minister's vision of doubling the farmers' income in India and reducing food wastage.

Indian food processing industry has grown tremendously, recording 11 per cent growth rate, which is twice the pace of global industry, Badal said.