Food Processing Industries in India

Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. The industry, in which, raw foodstuffs are made suitable for consumption, cooking, or storage is called food processing industry.

Challenges

• There exist gaps in supply chain infrastructure which means inadequate primary processing, storage and distribution facilities.
• Insufficient connection between production and processing.
• Seasonality of operations and low capacity utilisations.
• Institutional gaps in the supply chain, for instance, there is dependence on APMC markets.
• Lack of focus on quality and safety standards.
• Not having enough of product development and innovation.

Significance of the Food Processing Industry

• Food processing industries adopt a unique procedure to increase the shelf-life of food products by processing them with chemical reagents and preservatives.
• India is an agriculturally prosperous nation and more than 50% of its population is employed in the agricultural sector. Thus, India has a surplus amount of raw materials for food processing industries.
• The Food Processing sector in India has a quintessential role in linking Indian farmers to consumers in the domestic and international markets.
• Food processing is the next step in sustainable development as processed foods are less likely to get rotten thus reducing food wastage.
• Due to its longer shelf life, processed food can be exported to different parts of the world.
• Globally India ranks 1st in milk production and contributes 23% to global milk production growing at a CAGR of about 6.2% to reach 209.96 MT in 2020-21
• The demand for food items is significantly increasing with the increased population and thus more FPIs are needed to meet the demand.