The India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC) is sending a trade delegation to India to participate in the Indus Food Expo being held in Greater Noida in the Delhi-NCR region from January 18-19.
INZBC is the premier trade organisation in New Zealand, which has been working for over 25 years to build trade relations between India & New Zealand.
The ten-member delegation led by INZBC Wellington chapter Head Jay Changlani and assisted by Sameer Handa represents Auckland and Wellington-based businesses working in the food and beverage industry and importing from India.
The Indus Food Expo is poised to emerge as a mega food and beverage trade show duly supported by the Department of Commerce, Government of India, whereby bringing together major Indian businesses in food production, packaging and supplying on a common platform with major global companies.
The key objective of this trade expo is not only to create business opportunities for the Indian food and beverage industry, but also to demonstrate India’s prowess as the food bowl of the world.
India produces 43 per cent of world buffalo meat, 40 per cent of global production of mangoes and guavas, 23 per cent of tea, 22 per cent of global production of rice, 70 per cent of global spice production, 27 per cent of banana, and 21 per cent of global production of sugarcane and pulses each.
The INZBC delegation, on the other hand, is keen to demonstrate that there are abundant opportunities for business and trade between New Zealand and India even without the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
It is noteworthy that New Zealand and India are currently engaged in the talks for FTA, and it is often believed in some quarters that a delay in signing of an FTA is a hindrance in the growth of trade between both the countries.
The INZBC delegation is committed to challenging this perception and believes that there is a huge untapped potential for expanding the business and trade relations between the two countries.
Explaining the rationale behind taking this trade delegation, Mr Changlani said, “Fostering relationships and creating a platform for opportunities for business in India and NZ are key for our [INZBC’s] successes in the last couple of years.
“The INZBC team is very excited about this opportunity to showcase that trade can even be conducted between India and NZ without a formal Free Trade Agreement (FTA),” Mr Changlani added.
Similarly, Sameer Handa, an INZBC board member with a number of years of experience in refrigeration and food chain management expressed his confidence about the prospects of participation in the major trade show.
“We are excited to meet some of the top Indian producers, who are at the top of their industries.
“Today Indian companies are using world-class technologies, to get to the advanced economies of the world.
“We hope this delegation will add to the business value of our delegates and members,” Mr Handa said.