Deprived of the assistance by the Centre, Cashew Export Promotion Council has decided to participate in Gulfoods, the international food fair scheduled to be held in Dubai from February 20 to 24.
CEPCI in a press release said the decision follows the denial of support by the Ministry of Commerce under the Market Access Initiative (MAI) scheme for the last two years. CEPCI had been getting such assistance from the Centre for participating in major food fairs. However, there has been no such support over the last few years due to various issues.
P Sundaram, Chairman, CEPCI said the West Asia East is the biggest market for Indian cashews and the non-participation in Gulfood over the last years resulted in a sharp decline in market share. “We cannot afford to lose it again and since the Council is deprived of the assistance given to other councils, we have no other option but to participate in Gulfood in a small way, at least with own resources”, he said.
The decision of the Council to participate in the event is a welcome move, Noorudeen Abdul, former CEPCI Chairman, said.
There should not be any compromise on export promotion and the present move of the Council would bring in positive results to Indian exports in the days to come, RK Bhoodes, another former Chairman of the Council said.