India to build 15 mega food parks

The Indian Government has approved the construction of 15 mega food parks with an investment of Rs7.87bn ($157.19m) in order to reduce the wastage in the fruit and vegetables production.

Each park will be set up with an investment of Rs1bn ($19.97m), and will be completed within two years from the date of the release of the first installment.

It is estimated that each of these parks, which feature 30-40 food processing plants and are to be set up between 2012 and 2017, will generate a turnover of Rs5bn ($99.86m).

Earlier this year, the government approved the construction of 15 food parks, of which eight have been completed.

About 40% of fruit and vegetable production in India gets wasted due to lack of storage, cold chain and transport infrastructure.