Plan to triple food processing in 10 yrs

The government today unveiled a draft vision strategy for the food processing industry. The target: treble its size by 2015 with an investment of Rs 99,700 crore.

Releasing the vision statement, Food Processing Minister Subodh Kant Sahay said the consumption of processed foods would grow at 10 per cent over the next 10 years.

The vision envisages an increase in market size from Rs 4,60,000 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 820,000 crore in 2009-10 and Rs 13,50,000 crore in 2014-15. This is expected to generate an additional employment for 8.2 million people by 2014-15.

The draft plan seeks to hike the level of processing perishables from 6 per cent of total farm produce to 20 per cent, increase value addition by 70 per cent and raise India's share in the global processed food industry from 1 per cent to 3 per cent.

The minister said five mega Food Parks had been proposed, adding that the reasons for failure of the existing food parks had been taken into consideration.

A Rs 300-crore project seeking to provide back up for research is already under way and work has started on setting up a National Institute of Food Technology Management.

Outlining the major constraints hampering the growth of the industry, Sahay said, "Our produce should be in line with the demand. Only then can we hope to increase income in the farming sector."

The minister emphasised the need to have a public-private partnership for technology upgradation. Agriculture sector provides sustenance to two- thirds of the population but only a fourth of the GDP and if this is to change, Sahay said, food production standards will have to be raised.