A woman plants rice saplings at a paddy field after monsoon rains on the outskirts of Puri, Orissa, India.

A total of 48 Indian companies, stated to be the largest ever, will participate in Saudi Agriculture 2014 — the 33rd international agriculture, water and agro-industry trade show — being held at Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Centre (RICEC) in the capital from Sept. 7-10.

“India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), a premier trade promotion agency of the government of India, and Agriculture and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) are jointly working to facilitate participation of Indian companies in the Saudi agro-food fair,” Surinder Bhagat, spokesperson at the Indian embassy in Riyadh told Arab News on Friday.

“A total of 48 companies, largest ever Indian delegation, covering a wide range of food, processed food and food packaging industry, will participate in the event and highlight India’s export potential in these sectors,” he added.

“The fair will provide an excellent opportunity to the Indian companies to showcase their products and the prospects of agriculture and processed food industry in India,” Bhagat, who is also in-charge as commercial attache, noted.

He added that India’s participation aims to provide new impetus to the Indo-Saudi trade relations.

According to Indian embassy, Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest market for global exports of Indian agro-food products.

India’s agro-food exports to Saudi Arabia in 2013-2014 reached $2.05 billion, registering an increase of 43 percent over 2012-2013, Bhagat underlined.

Moreover, the Indo-Saudi bilateral trade has been witnessing a steady growth in the last few years and reached $48.75 billion during 2013-2014 from $21 billion in 2009-2010, showing a remarkable growth of 132 percent over this period, he said.

According to Bhagat, the bilateral business ties are being steadily expanded and further strengthened by continuous interaction and cooperation, including regular exchange of business delegations. Besides being a major trade partner, India sees the Kingdom as an important economic partner for investments, joint ventures, transfer of technology projects and joint projects in third countries.

With the continued support of the Ministry of Agriculture, Saudi Agriculture is the largest agriculture exhibition organized in the Middle East, attracting exhibitors from the Asia, Europe and America aside from the Middle East, in addition to local companies who will all be displaying the latest agricultural products, services and equipment.

The agriculture show has successfully generated notable international interest in its features and benefits, facilitating business partnership deals under one roof covering major industry fields.

The show’s visitors include high-ranking officials, major manufacturers, dealers, agents and distributors looking to explore partnerships and growth opportunities within the largest and fastest growing agricultural market in the GCC region.

 
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