Plant-Based Foods Industry Association of India meet APEDA

The Plant-Based Foods Industry Association (PBFIA) met with the Secretary of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Dr. Sudhanshu to discuss the potential of scaling up plant-based exports.

The meeting focused on the possibilities and the scalability of plant-based exports from India and becoming leaders in the global food ecosystem.  

On the 5th of March, the Executive Director of the newly formed Plant-Based Foods Industry Association (PBFIA) - Mr. Sanjay Sethi led a delegation comprising of the founding member of PBFIA Ms. Palak Mehta (Founder and CEO of Vegan First), Ms. Satvika Mahajan (Senior Policy Specialist at The Good Food Institute India), and Aditya Mohan of Plant-Based Foods Industry Association.

The delegation presented a joint submission to APEDA which included a representation made by PBFIA in addition to a detailed input document prepared by GFI India. According to Mr. Sanjay Sethi, 'Our talks with Dr. Sudhanshu were held in a positive and cordial atmosphere, and he was kind enough to promise all possible assistance to PBFIA.' 

(L to R: Ms.Satvica Mahajan (Senior Specialist, GFI), Mr. Sanjay Sethi (Executive Director, PBFIA), Mr.Sudhandhu (secretary APEDA), Ms.Palak Mehta (CEO, Vegan First) 

The plant-based foods sector is rapidly expanding in keeping with the growing demand in India. Several small and large organizations are already offering plant-based alternatives to dairy and meat products in the retail and HoReCa space, with many more in the works.

Platforms such as  Vegan India Conference offering exclusive B2B and B2C opportunities or the plant-based sector, accelerators like HSI (Humane Society International) to empower plant-based entrepreneurs, and Good Food Institute India - an accelerator for the alternate protein space is enabling a plant-based ecosystem in India.

With the growing number of plant-based products in India, the FSSAI released draft guidelines for labeling vegan foods after consultation with a panel of experts namely Shankar Narayan, founder-president, Satvik Vegan Society, Palak Mehta, Founder and CEO, Vegan First, Pune, ICAR’s retired principal scientist (food and nutrition) Sumedha S. Deshpande, Sangeeta Pandey, Head of Nutrition and Dietetics, Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru, Lalitha Appukkutan, NIMS Medicity, Thiruvananthapuram.

A similar committee has been formed by APEDA to develop export standards, guidelines, and the promotion of vegan products to ensure nutrition, health, exports, and awareness orientation for stakeholders.

The committee comprises of Dr. Surender S Ghonkrokta, Chairman, State Food Commission, Shri V K. Vidyarthi APEDA (Convenor of the Committee), Dr. P. Baswa, Principal Scientist ICAR NRCM, Prof Prathap K Shetty, Director, Central University, Dr. Renu Aggarwal, Chief Scientist CSIR CFTRI, Mr. Chethan TR, Agromatic Foods (exporter company) (sponsored by CFTRI), Mr. Rethesh Kumar, Symega (exporter company), Dr. Rakesh Kumar Jain, Consultant, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), FSSAI and QCI Representatives.
 
PBFIA has sought out the collaboration and support of APEDA in encouraging the growth of the entire ecosystem of the plant-based sector through upskilling the workforce, incentivizing and supporting the small businesses and the marketplace, and mentoring, incubating, and funding the businesses, especially start-ups. Suggestions on HS Codes, Phytosanitary certificate, and other similar topics were also shared by GFI.

It is through the building of such partnerships with special assistance from government organizations like APEDA, the plant-based sector can establish itself with a strong footing.

To join PBFIA, visit: www.pbfia.org

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