India’s New Prime Minister, Narendra Singh Modi on Wednesday urged the Multinational Corporations Pepsi and Coca Cola to help Indian farmers augment the fruit sales by adding fresh fruit juices to their fizzy drinks.
While inaugurating a food park in India, he stated,
“Millions of people buy Pepsi and Coke. I have asked these companies if they can put five per cent natural juice in their drinks,”
“If they can, then our farmers will make a lot of money. Our farmers will not have to throw their fruit away,”
Modi’s statement was in lieu to his foreign minister’s statement last month who advised these MNC’s to reduce the sugar content in their drinks and also asked the companies to collaborate with government for the development of nutritious processed food for school students.
The problem is evident as India being the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, discards its fresh produce worth millions of dollars each year because of the lack of refrigerated transport system for transportation of these goods.
While these Multinational giants already hold plans to invest in the world’s third largest economy due to its rapidly increasing spending capacity, the government of India at the same time seems to be much eager for pocketing these investments.
