Begin typing your search above and press return to search.

Seminar on food processing industry, technology

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Feb 25 - The Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, in association with the Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER), organised the North East Food Processing and Technology Seminar at the NEDFi Convention Centre today.

The main objective of the seminar was to disseminate information to the prospective investors and investment partners from the region regarding the Government of India�s thrust area and to emphasise on new products and processes and also R&D findings.

Speaking as the chief guest, Additional Director of Industries and Commerce, Govt of Assam, Prafulla Saikia spoke about the need for quality raw material to be made available to the producers in the Northeast.

�Unfortunately, a majority of the raw materials available is only seasonal, for about 90 days, as against the need for 270 days. This increases the cost of production as raw materials have to be sourced from outside. Besides, there is also a limitation of production infrastructure such as rice and flour mills,� he said.

Earlier, FINER president Pabitra Buragohain delivered the welcome address.

Immediate past chairman RS Joshi spoke about the need for value addition to the fruits and vegetables available in the Northeast.

Chairman of the food processing and agriculture committee of FINER, S Bhattacharjee delivered the vote of thanks in the inaugural session.

During the technical session, Puneet Agarwal, Director of Manjushree, made a presentation on packaging methods and the innovative ways food cans could be preserved and stored.

Arindam Choudhury of APEDA gave an insight into the current state of the food processing industry in the Northeast while entrepreneur Mala Moni Hazarika of Kamdhenu Industries went down memory lane on how she scripted a success story from just a few kilograms of mangoes to a flourishing enterprise.

Ajit Sarma of Bhogali Jalpan spoke about his success story over the past couple of decades and also underlined the need for both raw materials and market linkage.

A Deorah of Ashray Food Concepts said that food processing starts from one�s kitchens. A few other representatives from companies such as the Mangaldai-based SRD Group, Global Entrade, and J-14, among others, made presentations during the technical session.

Participants at the programme include various departments of State, development organisations and entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship development organisations, trade and industry associations, NGOs, training institutes, universities and colleges, financial organisations, industry captains and diversified business persons.

Next Story