India, despite being one of the world’s largest producers of milk, fruits, and spices, processes only a small fraction of its agricultural output. With rising urban demand, high post-harvest losses, and untapped export potential, food processing presents a transformative opportunity to link agriculture with industry and global markets.

What Is Food Processing?

• Definition: Food processing refers to converting raw agricultural produce into usable or edible forms such as turning wheat into flour, mangoes into pulp, or milk into paneer.
• Key Function: It acts as a crucial bridge between farmers and markets, ensuring that agricultural output is efficiently utilized.
• India’s Paradox: Although India ranks among the top global producers of agricultural commodities, only about 10% of its produce is processed which is significantly lower compared to 65% in the United States.

Current Status of the Sector

• Growth Performance: Food processing sector recorded an average annual growth rate of 7.26% between FY14 and FY22.
• Economic Contribution: It contributed around 1.8% to India’s Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2021–22.
• Employment Generator: The sector provides employment to approximately 20.05 lakh workers, making up 12.2% of the total manufacturing workforce.
• Infrastructure Update: Out of the 41 Mega Food Parks approved by the government, 24 are currently functional.
• Export Relevance: Processed food accounted for 25.6% of India’s agricultural exports in 2022–23, indicating its growing importance in trade.

Why Food Processing Matters

• Reduces Wastage: It helps reduce post-harvest losses by enabling proper storage, cold chains, and packaging.
• Farmer Benefit: It creates additional income opportunities for farmers and generates employment in rural areas.
• Meets Urban Demand: It caters to the growing urban demand for ready-to-cook and processed foods, such as dairy, pulses, spices, and fruits.
• Global Scope: It opens the door for India to build global food brands, much like Nestlé or Danone, tapping into international markets.
• Market Stability: It provides price stability for farmers and reduces agricultural volatility by adding value to raw produce.

Major Government Schemes Supporting Food Processing

• PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters): This scheme supports the development of mega food parks, cold chains, and infrastructure for value addition.
• Operation Greens: Initially launched for Tomato, Onion, and Potato (TOP), the scheme has now been extended to cover 22 perishable commodities to ensure price stability and better processing.
• PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM-FME): This scheme helps micro food units through credit support, skill training, and branding assistance.
• One District One Product (ODOP): The initiative objective is  to  convert each District of the country into a manufacturing and Export Hub by identifying products with export potential in the District.
• PLI Scheme for Food Processing: Similar to the PLI for electronics, this scheme provides financial incentives to large food processing units to encourage investment and scale.
  

Other Supporting Measures

• FDI Policy: The government permits 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in food processing and cold chain infrastructure under the automatic route.
• Transport Initiatives: Initiatives like Krishi Udan and Krishi Rail help in the speedy transport of perishable agricultural commodities across regions.
• Export Support: Export promotion agencies such as APEDA, MPEDA, and EIC help ensure compliance with international quality standards and facilitate global market access.
• Agri Export Policy 2018: The Agri Export Policy 2018 offers institutional support to boost the export of processed agricultural products.

Key Challenges in the Sector

• Large number of food processing units remain unregistered: This makes them ineligible for government schemes and formal credit.
• Inadequate cold chain infrastructure, poor logistics, and limited storage facilities hamper the sector’s efficiency.
• Small players often struggle with inconsistent supply of raw materials and high procurement costs.
• Access to finance remains a major bottleneck, with many small enterprises facing difficulty in securing working capital.
• Testing and quality control infrastructure is outdated, affecting the credibility of Indian processed foods—as seen in recent reports of substandard paneer quality in Indian markets.

Structural Bottlenecks

• Operating in Silos: Research & development bodies, exporters, and processors often operate in isolation, which restricts innovation and market responsiveness.
• Labour laws remain rigid and licensing processes are often time-consuming and bureaucratic.
• There is a lack of dedicated skilling institutions for food technology jobs, leading to a shortage of trained professionals.
• Disintegrated: The sector lacks an integrated farm-to-factory ecosystem that could streamline production, processing, packaging, and marketing.

Solutions and the Way Forward

• Simplification: The government should simplify labour laws, packaging norms, and food safety standards to encourage ease of doing business.
• Financial support mechanisms: Such as tax holidays, marketing support for MSMEs, and soft credit access must be enhanced.
• Investment: In the modern testing labs, warehouses, and cold chains can bridge the current infrastructure gap.
• Focus shift: It should be shifted from subsistence-level operations to a market-led approach that drives innovation and scale.
• Promoting direct linkages: Between farmers and processors through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) can ensure steady supply chains and fair prices.
  

Conclusion

Food processing offers a strategic opportunity to transform India’s agriculture from a production-driven model to a value-added, market-oriented one. With rising domestic demand and export potential, it holds the key to rural transformation, job creation, and economic growth. A comprehensive, integrated policy approach focusing on infrastructure, ease of doing business, and skill development which can help India emerge as a global hub for processed foods.

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