India interested in imports of Russian agricultural goods - Agroexport

MOSCOW. Aug 29 (Interfax) - India is interested in importing Russian agricultural products, the Russian Agriculture Ministry's Agroexport center said in a statement following a meeting between Amit Lohani, a member of the board of directors of the Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI), and representatives of Russian exporting companies.

According to the press release, the member companies of the association import juices, beverages, vegetable oil, snacks, healthy foods and a number of other products for sale in retail and HoReCa. Furthermore, Indian companies are interested in establishing a supply of confectionery products, including chocolate. "In Russian supermarkets, I saw a wide range of confectionery products that have potential in the Indian market," Lohani said. Among promising items are carbonated water, which is primarily used in India for making cocktails, sunflower and rapeseed oil.

Consumers, especially young consumers, have a positive attitude toward imported products and are eager to buy new products. However, independent entry into the Indian market is difficult because of the high share of traditional retail formats, language differences in different parts of the country, and complicated logistics. Lohani assured that members of the association are ready to assist Russian exporters in organizing deliveries.

The FIFI unites more than 5,000 of India's largest wholesalers and distributors of food and beverages, representatives of retail and the HoReCa sector.