600 F&B importers from 50 countries likely at Indusfood 2019: Ministry
New Delhi, Sep 7 : Around 600 food and beverage (F&B) importers from about 50 countries are likely to participate in Indusfood-II, touted as the world's food supermarket, in January 2019, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Friday.
"The Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) is expecting around 600 global buyers from 50 countries and over 350 Indian exporters and producers to participate at this World Food Supermarket in Indusfood-II," the Ministry said in a statement.
The second edition of Indusfood will be held on January 14-15, 2019 in Greater Noida in the National Capital Region (NCR). Indusfood-I, held in early 2018, saw importers from 43 countries generating an estimated business of $650 million, it said.
Following a recent meeting between TPCI Director Ashok Sethi and India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce (IBCCI) President Abdul Matlub Ahmad in Dhaka, IBCCI has confirmed its participation with a strong contingent at the F&B trade fair.
"Bangladesh is already doing business with North Eastern states of India and in Indusfood-II, their contingent will be looking forward to meeting new exporters from the North East region, including the horticulture departments of these states," it said.
Some of the key products that Bangladesh is likely to source from India are fruits, spices, confectionary, agri produce, dry fruits and mustered and soya oil.
"TPCI is working to attract maximum buyers from the SAARC countries to source their food and beverage-related requirements from India," the Commerce Ministry said.
Some big buyers, including supermarket chains, from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries including Iran and Russian Commonwealth countries (or CIS) have already pledged their presence in Indusfood-II, the statement added.
"(At Indusfood-I,) international buyers and Indian sellers from 12 categories of F&B industry experienced a unique opportunity of a B2B dialogue and insight into the large basket of brands, private labels and bulk purchase of raw items that India could offer to the world," the Ministry said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
