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Food processing sector in India to treble in coming years, says Badal
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Saturday, 17 September, 2016, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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fiogf49gjkf0d With India set to become the fastest-growing global economy, the food processing industry will treble in the coming years, according to Harsimrat Kaur Badal, minister for food processing industries.
She identified retailers, processors and manufacturers as key drivers for growth of the industry.
Inaugurating the conference on foreign direct investment (FDI) in marketing of food products and promotion of exports, co-organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI) recently, Badal prioritised ease of doing business and investor-friendly policies as her ministry’s focus.
Speaking about her successful visits to the United Kingdom and Italy, she shared that the international industry viewed India as the global food factory. Taking this forward, MoFPI will host the World Food Summit in 2017. The event would serve as a platform for investors, technology solution providers, manufacturers and other stakeholders.
Avinash K Srivastava, secretary, MoFPI, stressed higher allocation of financial resources by the ministry to achieve a fivefold increase in the gross value addition (GVA) of the food processing industry to the GVA of agriculture. He also spoke about ethical sourcing and integrating backward linkages into the supply chain.
Ramesh Abhishek, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), identified food processing as a key component of the Make in India campaign.
Leveraging India's strong food production base, he shared the government’s decision to permit 100 per cent FDI in trading and e-commerce of food products manufactured or produced in India to provide a major impetus to investments, employment and job creation in the food processing industry.
Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice-president, CII, and vice-chairman, Bharti Enterprises, noted that the opening up of FDI in the marketing of food products will facilitate seamless integration of the supply chain, and help farmers reach products to huge retail markets much faster.
Reducing intermediaries and strengthening the supply chain will cut down wastage and help improve price realisation for farmers.
Piruz Khambatta, co-chairman, CII National Committee on Food Processing industries, and chairman and managing director, Rasna, lauded Badal’s initiatives that are expected to attract global food and retail giants into the Indian food market.
Appreciating the government’s FDI policy, Krish Iyer, president and chief executive officer, Walmart India, suggested the inclusion of certain non-food items in the product portfolio for retailers.
Highlighting CII’s alignment with the Make in India initiative and ease of doing business, Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, CII, reiterated CII’s commitment to work with MoFPI to leverage the policy announcement for 100 per cent FDI in the marketing of food products.
The conference participants included Bharti Enterprises, Rasna Private Limited; Blue Star Ltd; Lulu Group; Max Hypermarket India Pvt Ltd; Britannia Industries Ltd; Mrs Bector Food Specialties Ltd; Rabo Equity Advisors; Weikfield Foods Pvt Ltd; Vadilal Industries Ltd; The Kraft Heinz Company; Satara Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd and FieldFresh Foods.
Also present at the conference were representatives from the embassies/missions of the Netherlands, Germany and other countries.
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