India is the world’s second largest producer of
food next to China, and has the potential of being the biggest with the food
and agricultural sector. The food processing industry is one of the largest
industries in India-it is ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption,
export and expected growth. The food industry is on a high as Indians continue
to have a feast. Fuelled by what can be termed as a perfect ingredient for any
industry - large disposable incomes - the food sector has been witnessing a marked
change in consumption patterns, especially in terms of food.
The food processing industry has been slated for
accelerated growth. It is projected to be a futuristic industry and it is
anticipated that, over the years, it will emerge as a leading player in the
global markets. As a result, the industry is seen to be witnessing feverish
activity.
The size of the processed food market is estimated
to be over Rs 110 bn and is growing at 10 to 15% per annum. The Rs 4000-bn food
market in India has been growing at the rate of 6.5% a year. The Indian middle
class spends an estimated around Rs 700 bn annually on food and groceries
alone. The ready-to-eat segment is growing faster as technology is improving
and so is the lifestyle of the people.
In the overall scenario, most segments, have shown
creditable performance. While milk pro-ducts, biscuits and chocolates have
maintained a modest growth of 4 to 6% per annum, fruits and vegetable products
and malted food recorded growth rates exceeding 10% a year.
The installed capacity of fruits and vegetables
processing industry has increased from 1.1 million tonnes in January 1993 to
2.1 million tonnes in 2006. The processing of fruits and vegetables is
estimated to be around 2.2% of the total production in the country. The major
processed items in the fruit and vegetable segment are fruit pulps and juices,
fruit based ready-to-serve beverages, canned fruits and vegetables, jams,
squashes, pickles, chutneys and dehydrated vegetables. Some recent products
introduced in this segment include vegetable curries in retortable pouches,
canned mushroom and mushroom products, dried fruits and vegetables and fruit
juice concentrates.
The fruits and vegetable processing industry is highly
decentralized, and a large number of units are in the cottage, household and
small-scale sector, having small capacities of up to 250 tonnes per annum.
Since 2000, the food processing industry has seen significant growth in
ready-to-serve beverages, fruit juices and pulps, dehydrated and frozen fruits
and vegetable products, pickles, processed mushrooms and curried vegetables,
and units engaged in these segments are export oriented.
With rapid increase in the per capita income and
purchasing power along with increased urbanization, improved standards of
living, there lies a large untapped opportunity to cater to 1000 million
domestic consumers. It is estimated that 300 million upper and middle class
consume processed food. With the convenience needs of dual income families, 200
million more consumers are expected to move to processed food by 2010. The
market size for the processed foods is thus bound to increase from US $102
billion currently to US $330 billion by 2014-15 assuming a growth of 10%. The
share of the value added products in processed foods would almost double from
US $44 billion currently to US $88 billion during the same period, growing at
the rate of 15%. This presents enormous opportunities for investment in
processed food sector
(Source for this blog NIIR Project Consultancy
Service with Thanks.)
Vende Mataram
