Thomex.com
As India's food processing industry gears up for new challenges to establish itself in the international food trade, tradeshows like Food & Technology Expo assumes greater significance for two different reasons. One, India is the second largest food producer in the world next only to China and the other Indian entrepreneurs' desire to grab a larger chunk of the emerging opportunities. The show provided fodder for the both.
Organised at Hall No 11A of Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from May 3-5, 2008, the show turned out to be a good platform for showcasing new and innovative products from agro sectors. Some of the highlights of the show were the wide range of special machines meant for Cleaning and milling, Food processing and Packaging, Processed Foods machineries, Handling & Transportation Systems, Refrigeration & Cold Chain Solutions, etc.
"This time, our USP is that the State and Central governments also participated in the show. Ministry of Food Processing Industries and National Committee on Plasticulture Applications in Industries were the major participants," said Vinod Jain, CEO, National News Service, the organiser of the show.
Organised in over 4,000 sq m area of the venue, the show was participated by over 100 companies including 10 from overseas. "The show is not only about new technologies and big companies, we are also planning to rope in a good number of progressive farmers who could learn about the changing dynamics of food sector," said Jain adding, "Food Processing growth is highest in India and we want this fruit to be shared by all."
The exhibitors who participated in the show were satisfied with the response they received from the visitors. Pardeep Chaudhary of Akhandjot Agro Industries, a Mohali-based Company, who deals in Grain and seeds testing lab equipments and Moisture Meters said, "We participate in all tradeshows. It serves dual purpose; it not only helps us in registering your presence but also in generating business. We are able to meet all our expenses, apart from generating fresh enquiries,"
Chaudhary said that the real gain in terms of business is evaluated only after the tradeshow is over. "Our target is 20 plants in a year which we supply to different clients. When we came here, we had already booked 22 plants and expect some more orders at the show," he said.
The tradeshows apart from giving exposure to small manufacturers also open new vistas of business opportunities, as Chaudhary realised. "Now we are exporting our plants to neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan," he said.
Ekta Bhardwaj of Satake India said her Company had its own reason to participate in the show. "We have been participating in these shows every year. Moreover, our closest competitors are here which makes complete sense of our participation," she said. Satake India is a 100% subsidiary of Satake Corporation Japan which commands 80% market share worldwide in milling market.
Talking about the show Ekta said, "Last time we received good response and this time around we received some 30 enquiries on the first day which is a good number."
Alok Sabharwal of Buhler India which provides rice milling solutions went ahead and made the tradeshow a venue for his product launch. "We are introducing Sortex optical sorting machine for the first time in India and have received an encouraging response from the people," he said.
"We are the market leader in our segment and cover a wide range of products apart from providing engineering solution. Our presence is essential because people from all over India come here to exchange notes about the latest technology and they want us to participate in the show," Sabharwal said.
Talking on business generated at the show, Sabharwal said, "We have always succeeded in getting good number of business enquiries at such tradeshow."
Kapil Rohilla of Ingersoll Rand who received about 30 enquiries on the first day said, "We had some good technical discussion with people. I was happy to see them having sound technical knowledge. I would however suggest more participation of such people from various companies who understand the products and its utility."
Rohilla said food processing being a booming industry; the government should have lenient policies so as to promote the sector. "The government should give tax exemption to companies dealing in agro-based machineries so that these machines find wider application in the Indian agrarian life," he said.
