Meals Processing in India: An Untapped Powerhouse – Trak.in

It is a Visitor Weblog by Saket Chirania, Co-Founder, Agrizy.

India’s burgeoning meals processing sector holds immense potential to impression the nationwide economic system positively. As one of many largest employment turbines within the nation, meals processing is a vital trade that provides worth to uncooked agricultural merchandise, thereby driving financial improvement and job creation. Nevertheless, authorities information from 2016 revealed that the meals processing trade in India was nonetheless in its nascent stage, accounting for lower than 10% of the overall meals produced. Though the trade has skilled regular progress through the years, there stays substantial untapped potential that should be harnessed to advertise the expansion of the nation.

One of many main obstacles confronted by India’s meals processing trade is the inadequacy of infrastructure. Inadequate chilly storage amenities, transportation networks, and restricted capabilities of present meals processing items contribute to vital post-harvest losses. To beat this hurdle, elevated funding in infrastructure improvement is crucial. Moreover, the present infrastructure ought to be upgraded to fulfill international requirements, significantly in rural areas the place agriculture serves as the first supply of earnings.

India Must Develop Its Meals Processing Business for Driving Higher Financial Development

India’s restricted proportion of processed items in its total agricultural and meals basket is one other issue conserving the meals processing trade from changing into a major contributor to the economic system. India primarily exports uncooked agricultural merchandise with minimal worth addition. At occasions, worth addition is completed by different international locations to India’s exported merchandise, that are then bought by India as completed items.

Surmounting the hurdles is crucial to totally capitalize on the alternatives introduced by the Indian meals processing trade. In accordance with a report from the Ministry of Meals Processing Industries, the sector has achieved a powerful Annual Development Price of roughly 11.18% over the previous 5 years, surpassing the general industrial progress price. Nevertheless, quite a few challenges persist and have to be addressed.

There exist large alternatives for the meals processing trade to make substantial contributions to the Indian economic system. One such alternative arises from the rising demand for processed and packaged meals merchandise. As incomes rise and life change, customers are in search of extra handy and ready-to-eat meals choices. This shift in client preferences presents a major marketplace for meals processors to faucet into and broaden their vary of merchandise.

Moreover, the meals processing trade can play an important function in decreasing meals wastage and enhancing meals safety. India faces the problem of feeding a rising inhabitants, and a major quantity of agricultural produce is misplaced as a result of spoilage and insufficient storage amenities. By investing in superior processing and preservation strategies, the trade may help decrease post-harvest losses and guarantee a gentle provide of meals all year long.

The meals processing trade additionally holds an excellent potential to generate employment alternatives, significantly in rural areas. A parliamentary report from 2022 highlighted that the meals processing trade is a significant phase by way of employment, accounting for 12.38% of the roles generated within the Registered Manufacturing unit sector in 2017-18. With correct coaching and talent improvement applications, people could be empowered to develop into entrepreneurs, contributing to native financial improvement. This not solely creates jobs but additionally addresses the difficulty of rural-urban migration.

The meals processing trade can present an immense acceleration to India’s economic system. Though the trade has skilled regular progress, there’s nonetheless vital untapped potential to be realized. Efficient collaboration between the federal government and the trade is critical to help the trade’s progress, benefiting not solely the sector itself but additionally the agriculture trade and the general economic system.