Tumkur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said multinational cola giants should help augment fruit sales for Indian farmers by adding fresh fruit juices to their fizzy drinks.
"People consume Pepsi, Cola and so on. These companies do business in crores. I have asked these companies if they can put five per cent natural juice in their aerated drinks," PM Modi said in Karnataka.
"If they can, then our farmers will make a lot of money. Our farmers will not have to throw their fruit away," he said after inaugurating a food park with a storage capacity of more than 20,000 tonnes for two dozen food processing companies.
India, the world's second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, throws away fresh produce worth millions of dollars every year because of the lack of adequate cold storage facilities and refrigerated transport.
PM Modi made his pitch to the world's largest soft drink makers a day before a trip to the United States, where he is scheduled to meet top executives from multinational companies, including from PepsiCo. (Also Read: World Leaders, Business Heads, Diaspora And Global Citizens - PM Modi is to Meet All During US Trip)
The US-beverage companies have earlier stated that they are committed to expanding their presence in Asia's third-largest economy where a growing middle class has more to spend on processed beverages and food.
"People consume Pepsi, Cola and so on. These companies do business in crores. I have asked these companies if they can put five per cent natural juice in their aerated drinks," PM Modi said in Karnataka.
"If they can, then our farmers will make a lot of money. Our farmers will not have to throw their fruit away," he said after inaugurating a food park with a storage capacity of more than 20,000 tonnes for two dozen food processing companies.
India, the world's second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, throws away fresh produce worth millions of dollars every year because of the lack of adequate cold storage facilities and refrigerated transport.
PM Modi made his pitch to the world's largest soft drink makers a day before a trip to the United States, where he is scheduled to meet top executives from multinational companies, including from PepsiCo. (Also Read: World Leaders, Business Heads, Diaspora And Global Citizens - PM Modi is to Meet All During US Trip)
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The US-beverage companies have earlier stated that they are committed to expanding their presence in Asia's third-largest economy where a growing middle class has more to spend on processed beverages and food.
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© Thomson Reuters 2014
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