NZ importers join in India’s largest global food even

More than US$ 1 billion worth of business was transacted at Indus Food 2019, India’s biggest international food and beverage expo, in New Delhi on January 14-15, according to the Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI).

Indus Food is a global platform where top exporters from India’s food and beverage industry participate and meet with prospective buyers and distributors from across the world invited to the event by the TPCI.

Ten New Zealand businesses were among more than 700 buyers in the food and beverage sector from 70 countries that the TPCI invited to attend Indus Food 2019. The New Zealand delegation comprised members of the New Zealand India Business Council (INZBC). The three-decade-old INZBC is the oldest body engaged in promoting trade and investment between the two countries.

INZBC Chairman Sameer Handa, who also led the New Zealand delegation to Indus Food 2019 said, “We had a very strong delegation of 10 great businesses actively engaged in trade with India.”

Mr Handa praised the TPCI’s Reverse Buyers-Sellers Meet programme under the Market Access Initiative (MAI) scheme of India’s Department of Commerce that facilitated the delegation’s visit.

“We congratulate TPCI on concluding such an amazing event successfully. It’s hard to find any fault with their arrangements. Everything we experienced was world class from accommodation to shuttle transport to the show and all the facilities at the show made it a lot easier for delegates to focus on doing business. The delegation to Indus Food was a huge success,” he said.

The volume of business transacted between Indian companies and those that were in the New Zealand delegation was still being assessed, Mr Handa said.

Side events at Indus Food included in-depth discussions at seminars that focused on geographically discrete areas. The New Zealand delegation was part of the seminar on the Oceania region comprising New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands region.

After introducing themselves and their businesses, New Zealand delegates raised several important points during the seminar that focused on supply chain integrity, quality, the contentious issues raised by the parallel import industry as well as marketing and promotion. The participation was vigorous and meaningful – acknowledged as such by the TPCI managers present.

The TPCI has already announced the dates for next year’s Indus Food programme, which it hopes will be bigger than this year’s second edition.

Earlier in November 2018, the delegation had also met the Indian High Commissioner, Mr. Sanjiv Kohli at Auckland. The High Commissioner discussed the issues faced by the importers in New Zealand.

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