Eight mega food parks will be operational by the yearend and will provide a boost to the food processing industry, according Niranjan Jyoti, Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries.

Addressing a seminar on ‘Food Retailing in India: Perspectives and Opportunities’ organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (Assocham), Jyoti said there are also plans to open agricultural food processing industry for 100 per cent foreign direct investment. It is likely to be announced in the Budget, she added.

Food wastage

Every year, ₹92 crore worth of produce is wasted due to lack of cold storage facilities. Mega food parks are a move towards reducing wastage and adding value to produce.

There are 14 food parks in India, eight sanctioned and there are more in the offing. Of the eight new food parks, one is coming up in Rathnagiri, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

Each park will have an investment of ₹100 crore through public private partnership. The Ministry has also undertaken a project to build 100 cold storage units in India.

Ravindra Sannareddy, Managing Director, Sri City Pvt Ltd, said that though the population is increasing, agricultural produce output is not. To meet the growing demand, food processing is the need of the hour, he said. C Anandharamakrishnan, Director, Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology, said agricultural output stands at 3.6 per cent and manufacturing at 11 per cent of the GDP.

“If we want our growth to be on par with developed nations, our manufacturing output should account for about 35 per cent of GDP. This is where the food processing industry comes into the picture as it has a lot of scope to grow in India,” he added.

Vinod Surana, co-chairman, Assocham Southern Region, said there is growing need to develop agricultural techniques, build better food processing technologies and cold storage chains.

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