Agrotech Fair Draws 70 Global Firms

Nearly 70 international exhibitors from Israel, Netherlands, France, England, Canada, Italy and Spain will participate in Agro Tech `98, India's premier agro-business fair, beginning here today.

The five-day fair is being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

"The fair will offer a glimpse of the $70 billion food industry," said Piyush Behl, regional director of the CII.

About 300 Indian exhibitors from different states, including Punjab, Haryana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, will also participate in the fair.

An integrated milking and processing unit for dairies will be one of the main highlights of the fair. Two exhibitions _ Dairy Expo `98 and Poultry Expo `98 _ will be held simultaneously during the fair, Behl said.

During the fair, over 20 Israeli companies will focus on irrigation, water management, wine-processing and tissue culture.

The Dutch companies will focus on floriculture, the French and Canadian on dairy farming and the Americans on cold chains technology, Behl said.

The CII is expecting more than one lakh people, mostly farmers, to visit the fair.