The Union finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, today said there was a need to upgrade the food processing industries in the state to preserve excess supply of vegetables and fruit.
He was speaking at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of a new manufacturing edible oil refinery unit at Haldia this morning.

Ramesh Sharma

Long way to go: The Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Mr Subodh Kant Sahay (right), and the Director, Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mr V. Prakash, at the 2nd Food Technology Summit in the Capital on Monday.

Cyclone Aila dealt a heavy blow to the state food processing and horticulture department, in terms of the department incurring a loss of Rs 101.62 crore from the damage caused by the storm in the districts of North and South 24-Parganas.

Responding to the show-cause notices issued by the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), a number of industrialists on Wednesday clarified their position with regard to their failure to meet the safe environmental standards, a source in the agency said.

In view of the economic recession, particularly in the USA and European countries, the prices of frozen food in the international markets has fallen up to 40 to 45 percent posing a threat to the industry in Bangladesh.

"A red alert hovers over the frozen foods industry," said Sheikh Abdul Baki, Vice President of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters' Association (BFFEA).

Rejection of a record 40 groundnut kernel consignments due to high aflatoxin levels has become a cause for concern for exporters and several thousand farmers across Gujarat

Ottawa will help Canadian pulp producers struggling with a U.S. tax windfall awarded their American rivals, but has not decided yet what form the aid will take, Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt said on Thursday.