British Agrifood consortium and CIFTI sign MoU

New Delhi, Mar 14 (UNI) To tap the huge changes taking place in the Indian agrifood sector, British Agrifood Consortium (BAC) and the Confederation of Indian Food Trade and Industry (CIFTI) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly deliver a series of UK services and products to the Indian sector.

''I welcome the signing of this MoU between UK and India. This agreement will enable BAC to deliver significant improvements in the standards and security of food production and processing in India,'' British High Commission Director of Trade&Investment Stephen Lillie said.

The MoU, under the Indo-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) initiative launched in 2005, was signed by CIFTI President Partha Mukherjee and BAC Chief Executive Ms Pauline Wade, in the presence of UK High Commissioner to India Sir Michael Arthur, Ministry of Food Processing Industry Joint Secretary Arun Kumar and UKTI Head International Services Group Martin Raven.

CIFTI, an allied body of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), is involved in research, testing and promotion of food and agri-business in India while BAC is a subsidiary of the Hull&Humber Chamber of Commerce&Industry.

Under the MoU, CIFTI and BAC have agreed to maintain close and regular contacts and exchange information and publications regularly on economic and business issues related to the food industry, especially its food safety and bilateral trade requirements. They have also agreed that both parties shall provide relevant information and services as requested by either party.

The focus will be on providing a framework of improvements identified during the diagnostic phase, including cold chain logistics, food security and traceability.

UNI RA SR HT1655