Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) urged for a technology based infrastructure for cold chain right from warehousing to transportation across the country to harness the tremendous potential of agro/food processing industry & requirement of logistics services for the same. Speaking at a Panel Discussion on “Optimizing the cold chain / strategies for enhancing warehousing & transport logistics” held during “ANUTECH 2023” event on 7th September at Bombay Exhibition Center (NESCO) Dr. Nirav Thakker, Executive Committee Member, FFFAI and Moderator of the Session pointed out that the cold chain industry in India is emerging very fast with a prospect of 14.37 % CAGR in the next 5 years. He emphasised that the automation of techniques, which is being widely implemented in the warehousing sector in particular to support the storage & distribution of the food, need to be further augmented including the end to end cold chain. The Panel discussion was jointly organised by FFFAI and the organiser of the Trade Fair: Anufood India, International Exhibition on Food & Beverage Trade and Retail Market in the Indian subcontinent.
Other panellists participated in the discussion were Mr. P.A. Bamane, Asst. Manager APEDA; Dr. Karuna Dhale, Asst. Director (tech.), FSSAI and Ms. Chaitaly Mehta, Director, EKF Logistics.
Speaking on this occasion Mr. P.A. Bamane shared in detail the role of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) in optimizing the Cold chain & Transport Logistics through Infrastructure Development, Quality Assurance & Capacity Building for increasing exports of agricultural & food products from India.
Dr. Karuna Dhale deliberated on the role of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in Quality and Compliance aspects as well as various trade facilitation measures to expedite EXIM clearances. She gave assurance of complete support and also explained the various training programs being conducted by FSSAI spreading awareness.
Ms. Chaitaly Mehta highlighted various challenges being faced in handling clearance and transport of the perishable cargo as part of the food supply chain with specific examples. She also showcased how her organization has been successful in overcoming these challenges and providing required services to the exim trade.
Moderator, Dr. Nirav conveyed gratitude to FFFAI Chairman Mr. Shankar Shinde for guiding in organising this important Panel Discussion jointly with ‘, the organiser of Anutech Food India. Commenting on the importance of the event and the panel discussion Mr. Shinde highlighted that as the world’s leading information and procurement platform, “ANUTECH” combines all technological solutions along the entire value chain – and that for all sectors of the food and beverage industry. This international event offers all cross-process future technologies. According to him, currently the focus of the Government of India is to increase the agro export and especially the processed food from India, which necessitates a robust end to end cold chain system utilising contemporary technologies to prevent wastage and compete with the world in terms of quality and price. He also stated that FFFAI is in close cooperation with the government and other organisations in setting up the required cold chain infrastructure. Moreover, FFFAI is engaging the trade through sensitizing its members about the potential/business opportunities in this sector.
