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Lack of R&D and investment in tech affecting growth in equipment sector
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Friday, 27 February, 2015, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Abhitash Singh, Mumbai
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fiogf49gjkf0d Even though the Indian food processing sector is developing at a rapid pace, the technology available in the agro-food processing equipment sector is not much advanced in comparison with developed countries.
The key reason for this being, major R&D thrust in India has been on the processing of food in the agri-food sector rather than on developing equipment, according to Pankaj Singh, technical sales executive, Kanchan Metals Pvt. Ltd, a company from Noida, which deals in the food processing equipment sector in India.
Apart from lack of interest in R&D, Indian companies are not keen on investing in technology. For instance, Singh states, “The reason we are relying on other developed countries for food processing equipment is that we don't invest more in technology. Indian food processing equipment manufacturers give more attention to quantity than quality, whereas in European countries and USA they give more attention to quality.”
He elaborates, “Few years back, our products ranged from namkeen, wafer and some other snacks but now lifestyle is changing, people are more interested in processed food and they are liking Western foods. The change in lifestyle of the people has given scope to Indian food processing equipment manufacturers to use technology and make high quality food processing equipment in India. But if we compromise on quality and just focus on quantity we will not be able to manufacture high quality food processing equipments.”
However, apart from a lack of interest in R&D and apathy towards investment in technology, India has several lacunae when it comes to manufacturing of food processing equipment. Singh lists out the issues, “We don't have good quality of fabrication, rely only on import, don't have workmanship to build good quality of food processing equipments.”
In contrast, developed countries are better placed. Singh states, “European countries and USA never compromise on quality of equipment. The complexity of food processing and packaging equipment industry should be seen in relation to the vast, multidimensional food industry. New foods are introduced daily, more than 50,000 new food products have been introduced in the US itself since 1983. The complexity of food processing industry is such that it is very difficult to give a comprehensive definition to the food processing equipment sector. But it should be understood that in today's scenario where food processing has become very important, it has become important to understand, classify and promote the food processing equipment sector in India too.”
Ravi Mirchandani, owner, Dynamech Engineers, Madhya Pradesh, which deals in food processing equipment, agrees, “In India, most of the technology available in the equipment sector which could be considered as globally competitive falls in the category of pre-harvest technologies. Since last few years, the food processing sector has been identified as a high priority industry in India, the equipment sector is also gaining importance. In food processing equipment sector, major research and developments are taking place as a consequence of the thrust is the food processing sector as a whole.”
He adds, “We are lacking in manufacturing good food processing equipments and relying on the international market for it because we don't learn from the international manufacturers about the technology they use. Earlier the Indians used to eat only namkeen as a processed food but now they are also giving preferences to the Western food. Since the focus is moving towards Westernised food culture, there is big scope for food processing equipment sector in India.”
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