New food processing unit in north Bengal on way

State govt is planning to set up a new food processing unit in north Bengal to process maize and make various products, including poultry feeds. The food processing and horticulture department will seek CM Mamata Banerjee's nod to work on a proposal to develop a mishti (sweet) hub in north Bengal too.

Arup Roy, state minister for food processing and horticulture, said: "We have received a proposal from sweetmeat sellers of north Bengal to develop a mishti hub. We will place it before the CM and work will start once she gives the go-ahead."
Currently, Bengal has around 100 food processing units, including MSMEs, and 10% of them are run by govt.
As for the new unit, Roy said: "We are preferring Siliguri or its nearby area to start it.

Initially, this unit will process only maize and make different food items. We will try to make the unit operational as soon as possible in 2025." Bengal was also trying to raise the cultivation of exotic fruits like kiwi, avocado and dragon and seeds were being given to farmers.
Roy had inaugurated the 21s International Foodtech 2024 Kolkata, a business-to-business (B2B) exhibition for food processing and its allied industry last Friday.

We are trying to add momentum to the processing of fruits like mango, pineapple and orange in the state for variety of food products," he said.

"We are trying to promote the use of food processing technologies in rural areas. For example, modern machinery is being used in Joynagar to make moya," said Zakir Hossain, chief convener of the three-day exhibition, in which over 175 Indian and international companies from food processing and hospitality sector participated.
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