CHENNAI, AUG 6
Tamil Nadu has a competitive advantage over other states due to its abundant agro resources and contributes 7% of India’s food processing output, said Tamil Nadu Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Protection and Price Control R Sakkarapani here on Friday.
He was virtually speaking at the 14th Edition of the International Conference and Exhibition on Emerging Technologies in Food Processing Sector (FoodPro 2022) from the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu, Thanjavur.
‘’Tamil Nadu is one of the leading exporters in the marine, rice, dairy and cereal segments and has a competitive advantage over other states due to its abundant agro resources.
A leading player in the agro-processing sector with over 24,000 food processing firms registered under the SME category and 1100 firms under the Medium and Large units, the State contributes 7 per cent of India’s food processing output, produces about 120 lakh MT of food grains, 140 lakh MT of fruits and vegetables and 12 percent of fruit produce,’’ said, R Sakkarapani.
- Pooja Kulkarni, IAS, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Guidance Bureau releases a CII Study on “Unlocking Value in India’s Food Processing Sector”
- ’Growth in the agriculture sector has a direct bearing on the GDP of the country & if this sector has to grow at a faster pace, food processing industry has to grow even faster: Suchitra K Ella, Chairperson, CII Southern Region
- Concurrent to Foodpro, the Third edition of “ColdStoRe India” & T-Food will showcase wide range of products and services in the areas of cold storage, refrigeration besides display of traditional foods items.
A CII Study on “Unlocking Value in India’s Food Processing Sector” was released at the Inaugural Session of Foodpro 2022 by Pooja Kulkarni, IAS, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Guidance Bureau. Independent research and analysis for this report was conducted by McKinsey & Company, who served as Knowledge Partners.
Pooja Kulkarni, in her special address, said, ‘’Our vision is to make Tamil Nadu the most preferred investment destination and a $1 trillion economy by 2030. As the fourth largest contributing state in this sector, we intend to increase the State’s agricultural contribution significantly. Our goal is to employ 46 lakh people by 2030 and upgrade the existing food parks while creating new parks’’.
‘’Growth in the agriculture sector has a direct bearing on the GDP of the country & if this sector has to grow at a faster pace, food processing industry has to grow even faster. Food processing ensures there is a direct reduction of wastage in agricultural produce and is the only sector that gives economic sustainability to the farmers,’’ said Suchitra K Ella, Chairperson, CII Southern Region.
Ella said that production of high-quality processed foods meeting international quality standards & regulations may very well open new frontiers for Indian food products. This will not only create a dynamic and competitive domestic food processing industry but will also enable India to become a major player in the global food market.
CII’s dedicated Centre of Excellence on Food & Agriculture (FACE) is working with all key stakeholders in the Agriculture & Food Processing sector and supports in the growth and development of the sector, she added.
“India like other developing countries has experienced significant expansion of fresh and processed food exports in the recent years. The Indian food industry is poised for huge growth, increasing its contribution to the world food trade. India is the largest country in terms of food production, processing, supply and consumption with manufacturing and agriculture contributing 8.80 percent and 8.39 percent to India’s gross value addition,” said B Thiagarajan, Chairman, FoodPro 2022 at the conference.
“The Government of India aims to boost growth in the food processing sector by leveraging reforms such as 100 percent FDI in the marketing and food products, various incentives at the central and state government and the recent announcement of establishing 18 mega food parks and 134 cold chain projects to develop the food processing supply chain will help the industry grow,” he added.
‘’India ranks first in the world in production of cereals, livestock population and milk, hold second position as the largest fruit and vegetable producer and is among the top five producers of Rice, Wheat, Groundnuts, Tea, Coffee, Tobacco, Spices, Sugar, and Oil seeds in the world. Even though the Government of India has made many policy reforms when it comes to food processing industry India’s share in the international food trade is a minuscule 1.5% while value addition to foods by processing is a mere 8% of total production. There is a scope for improvement as branded and value added products slowly making an entry,’’ said Satyakam Arya, Chairman, CII Tamil Nadu State Council.
CII Foodpro will showcase the broad spectrum of opportunities, technologies, and solutions available for Food Processing and allied industries. The three-day exhibition will have over 250 domestic and international exhibitors, sectoral conferences, B2B meetings, product launches and presentations. Concurrent to Foodpro, the Third edition of “ColdStoRe India” & T-Food will showcase wide range of products and services in the areas of cold storage, refrigeration besides display of traditional foods items.
