Twenty-six domestic and global food companies have committed an investment of over Rs 1 lakh crore at the fourth World Food India (WFI), making it one of the largest investment announcements in the country’s food processing sector, an official statement said on Sunday.
These investments commitments by companies, including Coca-Cola, Nestle India, Tata Consumer Products, Carlsberg India, Dabur India, Lulu group, Gujarat cooperative milk marketing federation (Amul), Olam Food Ingredients, Patanjali Foods, and Godrej Agrovet, spans several sectors such as dairy, meat, poultry, packaged foods, edible oils, fruits, vegetables, and ready to eat products.
Global and domestic giants fuel pan-India sector growth
A statement by the ministry of food processing said the cumulative investment of Rs 1.02 lakh crore is projected to generate 64,000 direct jobs, while creating employment opportunities for over 1 million people. Over 500 global buyers and representatives from 100 countries participated in the fourth edition of WFI that was held from September 25-28. These investments in the food processing sector will be spread across 18 states.
Earlier, the government had projected a significant increase in investment commitments in this year’s WFI (in 2023, Rs 33,000 crore worth of MoUs were signed). “We are expecting a good leap in the investment commitment in the fourth WFI building on the success of previous editions,” Chirag Paswan, food processing minister had stated last week.
Policy reforms and future outlook for India’s food processing
While inaugurating the WFI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said to encourage the food processing sector, 100% foreign direct investment has been permitted in this sector. “In addition, the PLI scheme and the expansion of mega food parks have also given this sector a boost,” Modi had said.
Paswan had stated that despite being among the world’s top five producers of key crops, the country’s food processing levels remain suboptimal. “Despite huge production, we have not been able to reach higher processing levels. There is concern about post-harvest losses, which can be addressed through processing,” he said.