NEW DELHI: Buoyed by the response from American food processing companies to enter India, Minister of State for Food Processing, Subodh Kant Sahai, has suggested that a sub-committee be formed under the Indo-U.S. Agriculture Knowledge Initiative for the purpose. Already, U.S. seed company Monsanto and Wal-mart food chain are on the board of the initiative.

Speaking to media persons here after his 12-day roadshow in the U.S. to showcase India in the food processing sector, Mr. Sahai said American companies had evinced keen interest to invest in India's food processing sector.

The Minister said a Rs. 5,000 crore proposal on an integrated strategy for developing the food sector had been sent to the Union Cabinet for approval. The Cabinet would discuss the report on this with a Group of Ministers headed by Sharad Pawar, Food Processing Secretary, P. I. Suvrathan, said. The Ministry wanted to mobilise maximum investment in the sector for raising the processing level to 20 per cent from 6 per cent, the Minister said. The ministry had appointed ILFS as consultants to prepare a feasibility report for the first five mega food parks to be set up. The report would be submitted in the next three months.

The government will give a subsidy of Rs. 50 crore each for setting up 30 such parks, while an investment of Rs. 400-450 crore needs to come from the private sector.

Giving details of his U.S. visit, the Minister said he received enthusiastic response and many companies had evinced keen interest in coming to India in the field of horticulture, dairy and meat processing. During his meeting with the U.S. Secretary for Agriculture, Mike Johanns, the minister said he suggested the setting up a separate sub-committee for food processing under India-U.S. Knowledge and a joint laboratory so that Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary issues did not become a hurdle in trade between the two countries.

The Ministry was also talking to Cornell University for providing technical support for setting up a National Institute of Food technology, Entrepreneurship and Management in India.

Among the American companies keen to enter India were Tyson in poultry and meat processing and in setting up modernised abattoirs. The Dole Company, a world leader in building cold chain and supplying processed food, had shown interest to enter India.

U.S. companies keen to invest in the sector in India attended the Minister's roadshows. Representatives from companies like Pepsi, Hershey, Cargill, JP Morgan, Procter & Gamble and Sara Lee participated in these meetings.

In the dairy sector, U.S. investors requested for specific requirement of supply of about one to two million litres of flavoured milk in tetra packs a month, for which availability of suitable Indian partners were being explored.

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