3-Day Exhibition of “CII Foodpro North East” Inaugurated in Guwahati

The first edition of “CII Foodpro North East” organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry is inaugurated on Thursday at the Maniram Dewan Trade Centre in Guwahati.

In his keynote address Manavendra Pratap Singh, Managing Director, Assam Industrial Development Corporation Limited mentioned that events like “Food Pro” is helpful in projecting the North East as the food processing destination in the North East. There is a growing demand for Government of Assam is creating forward and backward linkages to facilitate investments in food processing. Recently Assam has signed an MoU with Pepsico for Rs 800 crores at Nalbari. The State Government is projecting to process 15000 tonnes of potatoes in the next five years.

While speaking about the initiatives that the Government of Assam is taking to develop the Horticulture produces, Tiranga Borah, Director, Department of Horticulture and Food Processing, Government of Assam spoke about ensuring a supply chain for the horticulture produces. He mentioned about the training facilities the department has set up for students interested in food processing. He also highlighted regarding the cluster based initiatives and the mega Food Parks that the Government has set up in the State to promote food processing. He highlighted the tie-ups with ITC and Mahindra for procuring the best quality potato seeds in the State. He further spoke about Assam Government’s willingness to tie up with Bangladesh for investing in the food sector.

Speaking about NERAMAC’s initiatives, Cmde Rajiv Ashok (Retd), Managing Director, NERAMAC mentioned about reopening the pineapple processing unit in Tripura this year. He also informed about reopening of the cashewnut processing plant as well in the State of Tripura from September 18, 2023. NERAMAC has been working with the various State Governments in the North East for GI certification of their produces. NERAMAC is carrying out various schemes of the Ministry for Development of the North Eastern Region for implementation in the Region.

Earlier, B Thiagarajan, Chairman, Food Pro North East 2023 and Managing Director, Blue Star Limited mentioned that CII is committed to the development of the North East Region and the “FoodPro North East 2023” is a result of this commitment. Foodpro organized its 14th edition last year in the South India. He sounded confidence that the Foodpro North East will script a new chapter in the Food processing sector in the Region with exposure to technology, knowledge exchange and skill development.

Pradeep Bagla, Chairman, CII North East Council and Managing Director, Amrit Cements Limited welcomed the dignitaries and Mr Bhaskar Phukan, Vice Chairman, CII Assam State Council offered the Vote of Thanks.

The event has received overwhelming support from the industry and key stakeholders. This initiative is supported by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI), Government of India and Ministry for Development of the North Eastern Region, Government of Assam as the “Host State” and Government of Manipur, Tripura and Nagaland as the “Partner States”.

This event has also received participation from other government nodal agencies like the Spices Board and the CFTRI - Central Food Technological Research Institute, NABARD and APEDA.  

The theme of Foodpro North-East 2023 is "Growing the Market for Food Processing in North-East”, and the event is chaired by B Thiagarajan, Managing Director of Blue Star Ltd. 

North East Region is poised to emerge as a sunrise zone for food processing, thanks to the various incentives offered by the Government of India. These initiatives are not only benefiting agricultural producers but also creating employment opportunities in transportation, packaging, advertising, and marketing.  

Foodpro North-East  features a 3 Days Exhibition with the participation of over 50 exhibitors from all over India besides sectoral conferences, B2B, B2G & B2C meetings.  The expo is expected to attract over 6,000 business and trade visitors from across the country.

On the sidelines of the exhibition, a Conference on Food Processing is organized on September 14, 2023. The conference is well attended by more than 200 senior management personnel from the food processing and agricultural industries.

The conference aims to promote technology-based knowledge among stakeholders in the Agro and Food Processing sectors in the Northeast covering sessions on Navigating the Logistics and Challenges in North east and Strengthening Access to Capital.

The three-day-long Foodpro Northeast will be concluded on September 16 at Maniram Dewan Trade Center, Guwahati.