The potential of India's food industry

INDIA - India is the world's second largest producer of food next to China, and has the potential of being the biggest with the food and agricultural sector.

The processing food segment accounts for 29.4 billion, in a total estimated food market of about $91.7 billion. The food processing industry is one of the largest industries in India. It currently ranks fifth in terms of production, consumption, export and growth prospects.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has estimated that the food processing sector has the potential of attracting US$ 33 billion of investment in 10 years and generates employment of 9 million person-days.

The Government has formulated and implemented several Plan Schemes to provide financial assistance for setting up and modernizing food processing units, creation of infrastructure, support for research and development and human resource development in addition to other promotional measures to encourage the growth of the processed food sector.

Though the industry is large in size, it is still at a nascent stage in terms of development. Of the country's total agriculture and food produce, only 2 per cent is processed.

Source: FreshPlaza