Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh has a world class food processing ecosystem. Expansion of the sector through global brands from India is the target, emphasised Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

Delivering a keynote address as chief guest at the third edition of the India Food Manufacturing conference organised by the Trade Promotion Council of India in Visakhapatnam on Friday, the Chief Minister highlighted that the state has a capacity of nine integrated food parks, 17 lakh metric tonnes of cold storage capacity, 33 lakh tonnes of godowns and recommended value addition for food products in global market.

The Chief Minister assured that industrial parks would be set up in each constituency across the state. With new policies in place, AP is certain to attract Rs.1 lakh crore investments in the food processing sector in the next five years, the CM expressed confidence.

With fruits, spices, aqua, coffee and cocoa clusters spread across Guntur, Chittoor and Coastal Andhra Pradesh, the CM mentioned that Andhra Pradesh is considered as the fruit capital of India. He expressed confidence that the state would reach 25 percent of the total production.

Reiterating that food preferences of the people are ever evolving, Naidu underlined that the industry should cater to the emerging demands of the sector and changing preferences of the people.

Underlining that Visakhapatnam is considered special for various reasons, the Chief Minister stressed that there is a huge scope for setting up industries in Visakhapatnam.

Further, the Chief Minister said that the Centre estimates that the country's food processing industry is poised to grow its market size by Rs.700 billion dollars by 2030. Even as AP's share in the food processing industry is 9 percent which equals Rs.50 billion dollars, Naidu emphasised that there is a need to consider concrete measures to thrive in the industry further.

Later, the Chief Minister flagged off the 'hop on-hop off' double-decker bus service at RK Beach in Visakhapatnam. Boarding the bus after inauguration, the CM interacted with the passengers.