Food Processing Industry-A Management Perspective
Dr. (Ms.) Sitesh Bhatia, Associate Professor, Kalindi College (University of Delhi),
Delhi.
The food processing industry in India has recorded impressive growth in recent years.
India being basicaUy an agrarian economy, the scope and potential of this sector are
substantially high. Besides outlining the problems faced by this sector, this article
e-mail:
suggests measures for solving the problems.
bhatia/61 @bol.net.in
In the last fifteen years or so the corporate sector has entered into
food processing and organized retailing, through multiple branches
geographically wide-spread, in a big way. Substantial part of
capital investment has been allocated and professional manpower
built up and strategically deployed in the sunrise industry thus
adding to the growth and employment potential of the economy.
Food processing sector basically relates to the conversion of
raw agricultural produce into finished, value added, variety
food products with improved and desirable quality attributes.
India being mainly an agrarian economy, with majority of
population living in the rural areas and dependent on agriculture
for their livelihood, the food processing industry in India has
come to be recognized as an engine of growth for the economy.
The scope, potential and opportunities of this sector are
substantially high. A strong and dynamic food processing sector
can play a significant role in the diversification and
commercialization of agriculture. It is a sector which can
provide economic viability to agriculture, generate synergy
between agriculture and industry creating forward and
backward linkages and not only help bridge the rural-urban
divide but also help the country achieve inclusive growth. It
thus has the potential for bringing prosperity to the rural
economy by improving rural livelihood opportunities and
increasing employment, improving fanning methods and
practices and has an impact on social upbringing and prosperity.
The sector creates large opportunities for employment - both
direct and indirect. It has been estimated that every one crore of
rupees invested in food processing sector leads to 18 direct and
64 indirect jobs in the organized sector. It has already helped
create 47lakh incremental jobs in the last four years. The Ministry
of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), set up in 1988, has
been endeavoring to help create jobs and set a target of creating
1 crore jobs at a total of Rs. 1 lakh crore investment.
Further, the issues of food security, food availability, food-mix,
seasonality, food safety and food quality and their linkages with
IOSI CHARTERED SECRETARY Jt=======
poverty as defined in the Millennium Development Goals is
becoming more challenging as demand for food increases in
national and international markets. The increasing domestic and
international demand for processed, ready to use, and packaged
food items is bound to raise the prices of all food items, and
thus rural incomes are bound to rise, boosting GDP. The
development of this sector would also increase export earnings,
reduce wastage, ensure value addition to the agriculture produce,
promote crop diversification, and through all this lead to robust
growth and diversification of the economy. Due to its diverse
agro-climatic conditions, India has a wide ranging and large
raw material base suitable for food processing industries. With
possibility of cultivating a variety of crops. Horticulture,
including fruits, vegetables, spices, medicines, and aromatic
plants has emerged as a core sector in the Indian agriculture.
Inducing diversification and commercialization of agriculture,
this 'Sunrise industry' or 'Evergreen revolution', as it has been
differently called, can help India become a leading food supplier
to the world. Presently, only a small percentage of the available
resources are processed into value added production. However,
with technological know-how right from harvesting, handling
and transport to processing, packaging, storage and distribution
becoming increasingly available and popular, this sector has the
potential to grow by leaps and bounds.
IMPORTANT SEGMENTS OF FOOD PROCESSING
INDUSTRY
The Food Processing Industry has several segments each of
which is equally important for employment generation,
contribution to GDP, socio-economic diversity and export
earnings. The key segments of the food processing industry
are fruit and vegetable processing which includes ready to
serve beverages, fruit juices and pulps, dehydrated and frozen
fruits and vegetable products, tomato products, pickles,
convenience veg-spice pastes, processed mushrooms and curried
vegetables. The demand for these packaged foods is going up
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I (A· 18) JANUARY 2011