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Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram , Sept. 3

THE UK-based East Midlands Ethnic Food Forum (EMEFF) will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Malabar Chamber of Commerce to encourage bilateral trade and investment in the food-processing sector.

The MoU aims at exchange of information to open up technology transfer opportunities for joint ventures, e-commerce-based trading and collaboration in projects, according to a statement from the British Deputy High Commission in Chennai.

The agreement will also facilitate exchange of best practices in food processing, development of programmes to help small and medium enterprises get support from public and private sectors, holding of buyer events and joint research projects using Kerala's rich agricultural resources.

The MoU is the result of a joint initiative by UK Trade and Investment of the British Deputy High Commission and the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra).

EMEFF is an independent regional network of British Asian entrepreneurs in the food business. It is engaged in all aspects of the food industry and is looking for new markets for its members.

The UK is known for its ethnic food business that reaches a wide cross section of consumers not only in that country but also in other European countries. The industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK and is currently worth £1 billion.

In Kerala, food processing is a fledgling industry. Kinfra has set up a food park at Kakkancherry in Malappuram district. A few more food parks, promoted by Kinfra, will also come up in other parts of the State.

For the food park at Kakkancherry, Kinfra entered into an agreement with the Defence Food Research Laboratory, Mysore, for technology and consultancy.

The park offers pilot production facilities such as fermentation, canning and bottling lines to help budding entrepreneurs test their projects for a period of time at a minimal initial investment. Kinfra will give guidelines on marketing the products.

More Stories on : Foods & Food Processing | Kerala | Industry Associations

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