DHAKA: India’s prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said multinational cola giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola should help augment fruit sales for Indian farmers by adding fresh fruit juices to their fizzy drinks.

‘Millions of people buy Pepsi and Coke. I have asked these companies if they can put five percent natural juice in their drinks,’ Modi said on Wednesday in southern state of Karnataka.

‘If they can, then our farmers will make a lot of money. Our farmers will not have to throw their fruit away,’ he said after inaugurating a food park with a storage capacity of more than 20,000 tonnes for two dozen food processing companies.

Modi’s food processing minister said last month that PepsiCo should reduce the sugar content of its beverages, and asked the company to partner with the government to develop nutritious processed food for school students.

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

BDST: 1624 HRS, SEP 24, 2014