Indian food processing industry needs over Rs100,000 crore investment, says Subodh Kant Sahai

The food processing sector, which would be one of the main drivers of the Indian economy in the future, would require investments to the tune of Rs1,00,000 crore to achieve rapid growth, minister of food processing industries Subodh Kant Sahai has said.

For this, he said, India has to reposition itself in terms of productivity, commercialisation and value addition in quite a few promising sectors such as the food processing industry.

Speaking at the inauguration of the investors' meet and a training-cum-awareness programme on prospects of food processing industry in Gujarat, organised by the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), Sahai said India can engage in large-scale development of food processing industry and can notch a niche in the global scenario.

The growth rate of the food processing sector in the country is estimated to have increased from six per cent four year ago to 14.9 per now, Sahay said, adding that the government has targeted a 20 per cent growth rate by 2015.

Similarly, he said, the level of food processing in the country is expected to rise from 10 per cent of total food produce currently to 20 per cent of the total produce by 2015.

Along with this, exports should also go up from 1.5 per cent currently to 3 per cent, he added.