Advances in food processing industry in India: Opportunities and challenges

Food processing industry is one of the largest industries in India. It accounted for about one third of the country's total food market and ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, exports and expected growth. The Indian government through the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is making efforts to encourage investment for the growth and development of the industry. It has approved proposals for joint ventures (JVs) and foreign collaborations andhave given licences for setting up 100 per cent export oriented units. Various new schemes for the promotion and development of food processing industry have been launched. With consumption and production of processed food likely to increase significantly during coming decades, there is an opportunity for larger investment in food processing technologies, skills and equipments, especially in areas of canning, dairying, food processing, food packaging, frozen food, refrigeration and thermo processing. However, the food processing industry in India is struggling with issues of quality of produce, low productivity, obsolete technology, skills-shortage and infrastructure constraints. This resulted in higher costs, lower profitability and lower value addition. With the entry of MNC brands and food retail outlets the challenge for the industry has become more intense, threatening the existence of some popular Indian cuisines.

The status of food processing industry in India, opportunities and challenges before the industry and measures required to strengthen the industry are discussed in this paper.