NEW DELHI: Global retail majors including Walmart have expressed interest in investing in India’s food retail sector that was thrown open to foreign direct investment in June, a top government official said.One of Brazil’s largest poultry firms is also learnt to be in talks with Kishore Biyani ’s Future Group to set up shop in the country, food processing secretary Avinash Srivastava said on Wednesday. When contacted by ET, Biyani did not reveal the name of the Brazilian company Future Group is in talks with. Brazil has some of the world’s biggest meat processing companies, including JBS S.A. and BRF.The government recently approved 100% FDI in trading of food products produced and manufactured in India through retail trading including ecommerce under approval route. Walmart currently operates cash-and-carry stores that sell to retailers and traders.During a press conference on food processing sector’s achievements under ‘Make in India’ programme, Srivastava said, “Several companies such as Pepsi, Coke are tying up with the farmers for the supply of fruits and potatoes. We will provide all assistance required from our side to them.” Ramesh Abhishek, secretary of department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), said $1.04 billion of FDI inflows have come to country from April 2014 to March 2016 from companies including Kellogg, Ferrero India and Mars International.Greater food processing is part of the government’s strategy to double farmer’s incomes by 2022. It expects 100 new cold chains to come up in the country with investment of nearly Rs 3,000 crore. The government is hopeful that investments from Walmart will help build the required infrastructure in the food processing sector. Walmart was one of the companies whose views were sought at the time of drafting the recent changes to the FDI policy in the food processing sector. In an earlier conversation with ET, Walmart India spokesperson Rajneesh Kumar had described the FDI policy as “very progressive”. “We will study the policy document when government finalises and issues it,” he said. The company is keen to sell food products directly to Indian consumers through brick-and-mortar and online stores.The country is offering fiscal incentives such as 100% income tax exemption for the first five years of operation and 25% thereafter for the next five years to food processing units. “We want to encourage foreign investment in the sector to access more funds and bring global technology into the country,” said Jagdish Meena, special secretary, food pro socessing ministry.The ministry is also inviting expression of interest for six new food parks where preference would be given to companies which have 26% foreign equity. According to government data, with the addition of 32 lakh capacity of cold storage created with an investment of Rs 9,000 crore India has managed to reduce wastage by 10% per annum. Government is mobilising the credit support to food processing sector through Rs 2,000 crore special fund created in National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). The fund has been set up to provide loans of up to Rs 100 crore at a concessional rate of 8-9%. Up to July 2016, NABARD has sanctioned loans of Rs 505 crore in 12 mega food park projects and Rs 40 crore has been disbursed under the fund.