The Central government aims to increase India’s food processing level to 25 per cent by 2031 from 17 per cent in 2023, as it looks to boost value addition, exports and investments in the sector, Food Processing Secretary Avinash Joshi said on Thursday.
Speaking at the 17th FICCI Foodworld India Conference, Joshi said, “the processing level in the country has improved from around 10 per cent in 2010-11 to 17 per cent in 2023, and the government now wants to accelerate that pace.”
“If we increase the processing level, it will create a lot of value addition, boost exports and generate benefits across the agricultural value chain,” Joshi added.
Policy Backing
He said in order to achieve the target, the government might consider a national processing mission or another PLI scheme to support the sector, which requires significant investments over a short period.
Creating a Global Footprint
As part of its export push, Joshi said that the ministry is also working on creating a ‘Bharat’ brand to give Indian processed foods greater global visibility.
“We are planning, through this Bharat brand platform, to give visibility to Indian cuisines and Indian alco-beverages. Today, we are exporting a lot of ready-to-eat, ready-to-drink and processed food, but it largely caters to the Indian diaspora. Once we start thinking of the global citizen, only then can we achieve scalable transformation,” he said.
Joshi urged the industry to create the trust, brand and infrastructure needed to establish the Bharat brand across global markets.
He also called on food companies to shift their focus from increasing production volumes to creating greater value and improving nutrition outcomes.
“The challenge now is to move quickly from volume to value, and from value to the final destination of nutrition,” he said.