The ongoing 30th Aahar Food India Fair and Exhibition which was inaugurated by Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal will continue till 14th March and will be open to the general public only on 14th March after 2:00 p.m. However, the fair is open for all business visitors on all days with scheduled seminars and conferences. For the hotel and restaurant business visitors a special attraction will be the culinary show. Shri Ranglal Jamuda, Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries highlighted the fact that the exhibition was spread in an area of 45,000sqm. He said that out of 800 participants more than 70 are international participants. There are 22 countries participating in the fair including six new entrants from last year, and among these new entrants are Japan and Korea.
The fair is slated to be the largest in terms of participation and has more international participants than the 2014 Aahar fair. This is a good reference point for importers, buying agents, trade related bodies and exhibitors where there can be valuable exchange of information and ideas. The exhibits from countries like Poland are particularly interesting as Poland is getting ready to promote several campaigns in India in order to popularize their processed foods in India.
This time the Fair has been divided into two parts which are ‘Food India’ covering processed foods and beverages and the second part of the fair that comprises ‘Hospitality India’ and this is covering the hotel and restaurant equipment and supplies. Products on display for Hospitality India include building and construction equipment, air conditioning, laundry and interior, air and water pollution control, gardening and lighting, furniture and interior decoration, guest room products, health club and fitness equipment, fabrics and textiles. Restaurant exhibition display includes bakery and confectionery equipment, kitchen equipment, crockery and cutlery, food processing and packaging equipment and machinery, poultry, farm equipment and supplies.
In the Food India category there are fruits and vegetables, dairy products and chocolates, bakery and confectionery, organic and health products, meat and poultry, processed foods, wine and alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages, cheese, food ingredients, fine foods and food preservation.
The food market in India is growing at the rate of 1.6% per annum as the consumption pattern is changing in India and more and more consumers are turning to processed foods and today the consumer spending on processed foods is over 35 percent. The government is also making policies to help the industry and the upcoming Mega Food Parks are a big incentive. The government plans to invest in supply chain so that costs improve, supply tightens and there is minimum waste. The government is also keen to improve the lot of the farmers as they see food processing as something that will add value to farmers as it will act as a bridge to take the farm produce from farm to fork. Food processing is food saved as it will reduce wastage.
Leave a Reply Cancel reply