Subrata Gupta, the additional chief secretary for food processing industries and horticulture, recently highlighted Bengal’s significant contributions to India’s agriculture sector at the MCCI Food Processing and Horticulture Conclave. Gupta pointed out that Bengal has exported vegetables and fruits valued at Rs 57 billion and Rs 55 billion respectively. He emphasized India’s position as the world’s second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables, trailing only behind China, with annual productions reaching approximately 205 million tons of vegetables and 107 million tons of fruits during the 2021-22 period. Bengal, according to Gupta, is a leading state in vegetable production and also ranks prominently in fruit production within India.
Gupta addressed the substantial opportunities for investment in the sectors of harvesting, storage, transport, and processing, while also lamenting the loss of one-sixth of production due to the absence of adequate technology. He identified key challenges for entrepreneurs in the food processing sector, including poor CIBIL scores, lack of balance sheets, and insufficient experience. Gupta also noted that only a quarter of Bengal’s cultivated land is dedicated to food crops, with the remainder utilized for animal husbandry.