Bengal wants Centre to revise processed food list

The West Bengal government would suggest the food processing ministry at the Centre to extend subsidy to non-conventional food processing items like palm jaggery in the new food processing policy.

This was informed by Sanjeev Chopra, secretary, horticulture and food processing department, West Bengal during an interactive session at the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce of India. At present the Centre provides 25 per cent subsidy to entrepreneurs interested in setting up traditional agro-products processing units.

However, palm jaggery being widely used in sweet meat preparations in West Bengal, should be treated as food processing ingredient and any unit processing it should be given the same subsidy as the other food processing units, he said.

The move follows the suggestions invited for new food processing policy by Subodh Kant Sahay, the union minister for food processing, from states.

Also, the state would recommend subsidy for upgrading the 234 odd cold storages in the state. Chopra said the department would study the demands of all the chambers of commerce in the state, and thereafter submit its report to the Centre by the end of this month. On Monday the department had held a meeting with the chambers in this regard.

He further said once the Mullick Ghat flower market was upgraded, and the Barasat pack house was ready for use, flower export from the state would get a boost.

"As of now, we do not have any impressive export figures that we can boast. Once the infrastructure is ready, the exports would pick up," he said. Currently, Amsterdam in the Netherlands is the biggest flower export market for West Bengal.