Indian food and agro companies on four-day visit to Russia to explore business and joint venture opportunities: Dr Ajay Sahai

Indian food and agro companies on four-day visit (April 24-27, 2023) to Russia to explore business and joint venture opportunities: Dr Ajay Sahai, Director General & CEO, FIEO

 
A 50-member delegation of agro and food processing sector is taking part in buyers and sellers’ meetings in Moscow and St Petersburg amidst a massive push to further deepen economic ties that have grown exponentially.

FIEO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Business Russia to promote trade and investments between the two countries. “The two organizations will cooperate to arrange exhibitions, buyers-sellers’ meetings, workshops, seminars and encourage enterprises to work in tandem with their counterparts for joint ventures,” Sahai said.
 
They are also exploring opportunities in diverse business ventures such as ready-to-eat meals, fish meal, animal feed, soyabean apart from conventional products,” said N K Kagliwal, Board Member of FIEO, who is leading the business delegation. 

Kagliwal said that we are looking to increase our agro and processed food exports from about US$ 750 Mn to over US$ 3 Bn in next 3 years. Citing the rupee-ruble trade mechanism as “moving forward, but the pace is slow ”.

However, DG & CEO, FIEO is optimistic about its resolution as “exporters, importers and bankers, on both sides, have to do a little extra work to resolve it. A direct exchange rate between rupee and ruble will help streamline the process in a big way.
 
Dr Sahai said that “huge trade deficit is a concern, but it is also an opportunity to push exports exponentially. We have to diversify exports to automobiles and auto components, electronics, medical devices, solar cells, textile, food and agriculture etc.”