Union Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal will be in The Netherlands on 22-23 August to invite the Dutch government and businesses for World Food India 2017, according to a press release of the Embassy of India at The Hague.
During the visit, Badal will meet Dutch Minister for Agriculture Martijn van Dam. She will also address a road show on World Food India 2017, a mega international investment and sourcing event in the Indian food sector. The road show is being jointly hosted by the Embassy of India, VNO-NCW, Rabo Bank and KPMG at the Rabo Bank headquarters in Utrecht. The road show will be attended by CEOs of leading Dutch companies involved in the food processing sector. Presentations will be made at the road show on investment opportunities in India’s food processing sector.
Badal is being accompanied by senior officials of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries and a business delegation of representatives from the Confederation of Indian Industry and KPMG India.
World Food India 2017 will be organised by the Government of India from 3-5 November 2017 in New Delhi. The event aims to bring global and Indian leaders across the food processing industry and value chain on one platform. It will showcase opportunities for foreign investors in India’s food processing industry and familiarise the global industry with India’s policy environment.
The Netherlands, situated in Western Europe, is the sixth largest economy in the European Union with an overall GDP of $770.8 billion in 2016. The food processing industry contributes to approximately 10% of GDP of Netherlands and 20% of total industrial export. There are over 4,500 food processing companies in Netherlands making it the second largest agri-food exporter in the world after the USA. It supplies a quarter of the vegetables that are exported from Europe. Netherlands is the fourth largest exporter of cheese in the world and 12 of the world’s largest agri-food companies have major production or R&D sites in Netherlands, including Cargill, Heinz, Monsanto, Unilever, Mead Johnson, ConAgra, and Mars2.
The Minister’s visit is aimed at informing Dutch companies of the numerous opportunities present in India and invite them to participate in World Food India 2017 and provide their expertise as well as invest in post-harvest management, capacity expansion, research and development and skill development in India.