Walmart to source up $30 mn a yr from India

New Delhi, July 26: The global food chain Walmart has assured the government that it would source up to 30 billion dollar a year from India for its global supply, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahai said today.

However, Mr Sahai said FDI in retail sectors remained a political question. The government did not want to eliminate small players but to create a world market for the products.

''The government will table the Food and Safety Standards Bill 2005 in Parliament today in order to give a boost to the food processing and packaging sector,'' he said at a National Seminar on Packaging organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

Mr Sahai said the proposed Bill would not cover street food vendors. They needed to be motivated to improve their quality with better packaging techniques and material to upgrade their quality and services.

He said the Bill would consolidate laws relating to food and establish standards of food and safety.

Meanwhile, the government had recommended lower VAT rates to states of zero percent for perishable food and 4 per cent for non-perishable food, respectively.

However, the government had reduced excise duty to 16 per cent on packaging paper and 5 per cent for machinery, Mr Sahai said.

He said government was planning 60 new millennium cities that would usher in a new culture where housewives would not cook whole meals but buy pre-cooked food, with 5,000 new retails outlets to be opened in the next two to three years.

Mr Sahai said packaging needed to adhere to strict health standards because of its prolonged contact with food, adding that packaging remained expensive in India resulting higher prices of processed food. This needed to be reduced through new technology and better materials.

''Packaged food appeared to be more hygienic, standardized and longer-lasting than food bought from street-side vendors. The packaging industry needed to build this perception among consumers in order increase the sales of processed food,'' he said.

Speaking at the occasion, Chairman, CII National Committee on Packaging, Gaurav Swarup said food stuff worth Rs 7,000 crore was being wasted annually as the agriculture had not invested in packaging facilities.

Food prcessing growth had enabled the packaging industry to grow at 20-25 per cent annually, he informed.

Nearly 100 participants from the packaging and food processing industry attended the workshop.

UNI