With Assam getting a ‘mega’ Food Park by early next year, Tripura too has urged the centre to set up such a park to tap the state’s vast potential in food processing sector.
Speaking at an Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) organised investment meet in Agartala today, Tripura chief minster Manik Sarkar impressed upon the Union minister of food processing industries, Subodh Kant Sahay, who too was present at the meet, to set up a “mega” Food Park in the state.
Stating that the connectivity bottleneck would soon disappear once the Chittagong Port access materialises, Sarkar said that a ‘mega’ Food Park would help the state become an agri-food processing hub in the region. Tripura is rich in horticultural products like pineapple, orange, jackfruit, litchi, banana, mango and so on. Bangladesh-based Pran Group, which has been into food processing business since 1980, is presently coming up with a $5 million food processing unit in Agartala.
Inviting investors to set up projects in Tripura, he said that they could take advantage of the Chittagong Port to export their products to mainland India as well as to neighbouring countries. Sahay said that his ministry was working to ensure that goods and services tax (GST) on food processing industries be contained in the range of 0 to 4 per cent. Further, he assured to give 100 per cent grant in setting up of a modern food testing laboratory in Agartala.