India, France to cooperate in food processing sector

India and France agreed to cooperate in the field of food processing to take advantage of each others expertise in the sector. A letter of intent for bilateral cooperation in the food processing sector was signed between India and France in the presence of Minister for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahai and French Minister for Agriculture Bruno Le Maire, an official release said. Sahai said levels of food processing are far higher in France compared to India and the latter can benefit from it. Specialities of the French industries in cultivating the specific variety of standard size of vegetables for the purpose of canning and bottling are well known internationally, Sahai said, adding exchange of the information and technology in this field will be of immense help to the industries in India. Sahai said France is ranked fifth in the list of India's trading partner among EU countries. India is the 13th largest investor in France. There are about 90 Indian companies in France and have invested in IT, pharmaceuticals, plastic industry, auto parts, etc. Sahai said the government has set an investment target of around Rs one lakh crore by 2015 in the sunrise sector. The sector is expected to grow by 20 per cent and value-addition to increase by 35 per cent by 2015. India accounts for 10 per cent of world's fruits production and 13 per cent of vegetables output.