Argentina Eyes Food Sector in India
MUMBAI, INDIA - An interactive discussion was organized with Mr. JesĂşs Silveyra, Joint Secretary of Agricultural Markets, Argentina along with a delegation to explore possibilities for collaboration with Indian companies in the field of agriculture and food processing.
Mr. Silveyra said, “With new economical rules established by my government, Argentina is moving in a pro-trade direction and looks to India to promote bilateral trade especially in agriculture.
The rules will enable potential investors to purchase more than 1000 hectares of land in Argentina boosting its agriculture output by 20 percent. The other areas include IT, pharmaceuticals, mining, hydrocarbons, wine & honey production, chicken, meat, edible oil, and bio- sciences”. The event was held at the World Trade Centre (WTC) Mumbai which was jointly organized by WTC Mumbai and the All India Association of Industries on September 19, 2016.
Mr. Silveyra, stressed that Argentina had a positive approach and is keen on reaching out to international markets. He said, “India’s demographic dividend and increasing rate of growth, Argentina should be exporting more agriculture and bio products to India”. He opined that India must help Argentina to expand worldwide which it has proven in IT and Pharma sectors. More student exchange programs need to be part of the curriculum in agriculture institutes.
Mr. Silveyra expressed his interest in exporting queen bees to India for honey production and investing in India’s food parks. In the area of cattle breeding, Argentina leads by 60% in labour production beating US which is at a measly 20%. Argentina is one of the leaders in bio-products, exporting 7000 tonnes. They have capabilities in technology warehousing and post harvest management which could be of interest to India.
Mr. Silveyra said that Argentina’s President and Cultural Minister plan to visit India next year. Also there is need to establish an Argentina-India Chamber of Commerce to create a favorable environment to foster conducive bilateral trade between both countries. In closing he said, “We look forward to World Trade Centre Mumbai and its networks to achieve this goal”.
Capt. Somesh Batra, Vice Chairman, WTC Mumbai in his opening remarks said “In 2015–16 India’s bilateral trade with Argentina stood at USD 3 billion and there is immense scope for further bilateral relations. Argentina has the capacity of 150 million tonnes agriculture of which 100 million tonnes is exported providing scope for joint ventures in agro and food processing sectors”. Argentina government could consider India’s new initiatives such as a Make in India, Skill India and Ship Building sector.
Mr. Vijay Kalantri, Vice Chairman, WTC Mumbai said “India should initiate subsidies in freight cost for exports to Argentina and create a platform for sharing best agriculture practices and technology between both countries. The focus of the foreign trade policy is to support services and exports along with improving the ease of doing business”.
In Photo: From (L.R): Mr. JesĂşs Silveyra and Mr. Vijay Kalantri.
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