From an agrarian economy, rural India is transforming itself into an agro-processing economy.
States that were and are major producers of food crops are no longer content with transporting the produce to more developed states for processing into food products; they want to stake more claim on the food chain by setting up food processing units in their own states.
The Uttar Pradesh government’s Food Processing Industrial Policy 2023 – which includes a slew of concessions and incentives to set up food processing units in the state – illustrates the producer-processor divide. The state is first in the country in the production of mango, peas, milk, sugarcane, wheat and potato. However, in terms of processing, it is at the sixth position for mango, fourth for peas, fourth for milk, second for sugarcane, third for wheat and sixth for potato, indicating that there is a major scope for food processing in the state.
Punjab has announced its intention to set up 20 dedicated rural industrial hubs across the state, which will focus on food processing. Andhra Pradesh will develop 26 common facility integrated production centres, with a total outlay of `3,600 crore as part of its Food Processing Policy 2020-25. They will be operated under the PPP model, where the government will create the modern secondary plug-and-play food processing units with necessary infrastructure and give the same on a long term lease to reputed MNCs or food processing firms.
This state-wise push is backed by a national stimulus; the recent Union Budget has doubled the PLI allocation for the food processing sector.
India’s food sector is one of the largest in the world, and its output is expected to reach $535 billion by 2025-26; food processing accounts for one-third of this. While the export of food products has been on the rise, Indian annual household consumption is expected to triple by 2030, making India the fifth-largest consumer in the world.
India will process what it grows and eat what it processes. However, each unit of food products is constantly under threat of microbial contamination – from raw material procurement to storage of finished goods.
How can the FM sector allay this threat and support the food processing industry? Read on
1) Here’s why food processing companies are obsessed with cleaning
2) Case study: IFM for a consumer foods client