145;India needs more food processing units146;

A panel discussion on 8216;Logistics8217; was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in association with Agro Tech 2008 on Saturday.

A panel discussion on 8216;Logistics8217; was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry CII in association with Agro Tech 2008 on Saturday.

Abraham Tharakan, chairman and managing director, Amalgam Investments, said food logistics is an area of concern in the country. He added that transportation is an area which needs to be looked into as poor condition of roads affects the goods during transit. 8220;The lack of temperature management, specifically in the storage of frozen food and food that requires low temperatures is also a major factor leading to the problems in logistics in India,8221; he said.

SK Sharma, managing director, Global Agri Systems Private Limited, said other factors that lead to transportation bottlenecks include barriers put up by various states for collection of taxes and other levies like Central Sales Tax and Value Added Tax among others.8221;

Referring to the development of terminal markets in the country, PK Swain, director of marketing, Department of Agriculture, Government of India, said: 8220;India should not only look at agricultural produce, but also move up the value chain and set up a large number of processing industries. There is tremendous opportunity in this area as the level of food processing in India is very low as compared to countries like USA, France, Malaysia and Thailand.8221;

Sanjay Aggrawal, managing director, Dev Bhumi Cold Chain Private Limited, said India is moving at a slow pace in agricultural development. He added: 8220;The focus should be on value addition and not on reduction in prices.8221;

Anthony Plummer, senior consultant, British Agrifood Consortium, gave an overview of the retail market in Britain. He said: 8220;You need to understand both your strengths and weakness if you want to organise the retail industry in your country.8221;

Agro Tech 2008, India8217;s biennial agro technology fair is being held in the city and is showcasing the latest in agricultural technology, products and allied services. Being organised by the CII, the event is featuring seven concurrent expos and 3 international conferences, covering agriculture and related sectors. The conference will conclude on December 1.

Story continues below this ad

Refrigerated vegetable cart displayed at Agro Tech 08
Acme Cold Chain Solutions Ltd displayed vegetable carts with refrigerators at Agro Tech 08 on Saturday. The cart, which has a refrigerator to provide the appropriate temperature to vegetables and fruits, will soon be launched under the name direct to home DTH.

8220;The cart has been a success in Noida and Gurgaon. We now plan to introduce it in Amritsar after which, we will bring it to Chandigarh,8221; said Vinod Dhingra, local manager of the company.

He added that they are receiving good response from retail outlets who are demanding these carts.

Ranjit Singh, a farmer said: 8220;The technology will help combat fruits and vegetables from being spoiled. It will also help urban hawkers minimise their losses.8221;