India, UAE to set up food corridor at $2 bn investment: Piyush Goyal

India and the UAE will set up a food corridor with an expected investment of $2 billion which will cater to the UAE market and beyond and help Indian farmers earn higher income and create more jobs, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference on the 12th meeting of India-UAE High-Level Task Force on Investment here, Goyal, who is the Minister for Commerce and Industry, said that a small working group comprising central government, state governments involved and the UAE has also been set up to take forward the establishment of food corridor between the two countries on a mission mode basis.

"... Another area which was discussed in great detail was the setting up of food parks in India. The background work is largely completed, (this is) another area which will help farmers with higher income, provide jobs in food processing to thousands if not lakhs of our youth and will also ensure the food security of UAE," Goyal said.

The minister said that approximately $2 billion dollars is the initial commitment that UAE has made to invest in the food processing industry and the food park logistics that can be required to move the material to the UAE.

"We have set up a small working group of Central Government and state governments involved and the UAE to take forward this establishment of a food corridor between the two countries on a mission mode basis," he stated.

Stating that this investment is expected to happen in the next two-and-a-half-year period, Goyal said, "But the overall investment is also a factor of the opportunities that Indian businesses are able to offer."

"It has been under discussion for a very long time that the UAE would like to invest in setting up food processing facilities in India to enable the availability of high-quality products suitable to the UAE, using Indian farmers' products and to be sold in the UAE.

This matter has been under discussion for quite some time with the UAE Government coming, and with different states in India," Goyal said.

"Now, we are looking at progressing them faster to make sure that investments in food processing can come up in India with UAE investors and the UAE Market along with other Gulf markets," he added.