CII asks for focus on processed food

Business Desk
The processed food industry in India has the immense potential to be the Next big Made in India story for the nation. In order to explore & harness this untapped potential Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is organizing Processed Foods Outsourcing Summit cum Buyers-Sellers meet, Processed Food - Advantage India 2008 in Delhi on Thursday 17th July 2008.

The two day summit assumes greater significance in light of the fact that for the first time over 30 Global buyers are converging from all across the world to explore the massive opportunity of India as an expanding global trade in outsourcing the processed food.

The two day Summit is supported by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. The summit will be inaugurated by Hon'ble Minister for Food Processing Industries Shri Subodh Kant Sahai.

Food Advantage India 2008 will see participation from international buyers like Auchan International; Gate Gourmet Singapore; Hang Fong Trading Enterprise; Western Gourmet;Tesco; Metro; Sysco; Spinneys; Xongdur Thai Organics food; to name a few. The summit will also see participation from over 120 Indian companies who will have an opportunity to meet, network and establish profitable business linkages with leading multinational retailers, manufacturers, consolidators and importers. Some of the participating companies from India are Britannia Industries Ltd.; Kaventer; Rasna International; MTR Foods; Tasty Bite; Safal, Priyagold; Tea Board of India.

According to Mr. Piruz Khambatta, Chairman, CII National committee on Food Processing and CMD, Rasna International ltd. "The processed food sector, which presently is a muscular dwarf has capacity & capability to do for rural India what IT & ITeS has done for the urban India. The international market has massive volume as well higher margin which will actually give a groundswell and economic boost to the Farm end by enhancing the productivity and higher yield. Global manufacturers and retailers are offering greater variety to consumer by adding their own private labels by varying flavors and spices providing special formulations for the health conscious and illness affected Alternate sourcing (reduced logistic costs is making viable movement of mid price to even low priced products across geographies). India has a significant supply capacity for value added products and processed food, but to harness that potential, the sector needs to gear up to align itself to real-time demand pull, which is the increasing international taste for Indian foods. Internationalizing tastes and a strong emergence of 'Brand India' has increasingly led to the wide acceptance of Indian cuisine all over the world."

"At present, India's share of global trade in the value added processed food sector is less than .03%, which is abysmal considering that globally the sector is estimated at a whopping US $ 3.2 trillion. This clearly defines the scope for export led growth for the Indian food processing sector. India, with its easy availability of raw materials and low cost of production is strategically poised to capitalize on this market." , further added Mr Khambatta.

The country has 1/10th of the world's arable land at around 160 million hectares, which is higher than China. India currently produces about 50 million tonnes of fruit (about 9% of the world's production) and about 90 million tonnes of vegetables (11% of the world's production). The country produces over 500 million tonnes of agricultural, horticultural and dairy produce annually, thus making it one of the world's largest food producers. This apart, India is a treasure house for aromatic and medicinal spices, for which the country is well known. India's diverse communities have given birth to a plethora of lip-smacking cuisine that is fast gaining popularity across the world. India also enjoys the advantage of the lowest cost of production in the world, which if ingeniously applied can give us an unbeatable competitive edge in the global market place. Lastly, a number of Indian business houses are already playing in the food business and have the financial capacity and backing to take the industry global. All in all, our world famous Alphonso Mangoes, cumins, cardamom, and coriander and a range of vegetables and curries will soon find a place on international shelves.

This is therefore the right time for Indian producers to venture internationally. The need of the hour is to learn from countries like Thailand and Malaysia and devise a strong market development programme, to aggressively develop 'Brand India for Foods' and to speed up on the processing levels for agricultural produce in the country. Since, it takes time to move into newer markets and to establish oneself firmly, early movers among the 4,00,000 units producing processed food and over 2000 registered processed food exporters, will emerge as significant players tomorrow.