The 11th edition of FoodTech India 2021, the region's premier food processing and packaging expo, got over on Thursday evinced not just enquiries for products or services but joint ventures too.

Joseph Kuriakose, Director, Cruz Expos, organizers of the 3-day expo, which was organized virtually due to covid restrictions, said the expo generated concrete inquiries for joint ventures in coconut and dairy product sectors, including two projects for setting up coconut drink/chips and dairy and ice cream in Sri Lanka. Another query was for a milk and related beverages project in Bangladesh, he said.

The expo attracted a total of 1,350 trade visitors, including 475 from abroad. He said most of the international visitors were from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The response from the food processing industry was encouraging as it is one of the least affected and the fast recovering industries from the effects of Covid. Though being held virtually, the show also provided all the business networking opportunities available in a physical expo. And by being online, it was accessible from across the world, he added.

Kerala is home to various spices and food crops, the food-processing industry is one of the largest and fastest growing industries. The State has 69,000 food processing units which form 23 per cent of the total industrial enterprises.

Cruz Expos, the show’s organizers, have recently conducted similar virtual expos on agri-business and boat and marine sectors in October 2020 and February 2021.

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