Growing Potential of Indian Food Processing Industry

China is the world's largest producer of food followed closely by India which in fact, has the potential of being the biggest with the food and agricultural sector. The total food production in India is likely to double in the next ten years and there is an opportunity for large investments in food and food processing technologies, skills and equipment, especially in areas of Canning, Dairy and Food Processing, Specialty Processing, Packaging, Frozen Food/Refrigeration and Therm o Processing. Fruits & Vegetables, Fisheries, Milk & Milk Products, Meat & Poultry, Packaged/Convenience Foods, Alcoholic Beverages & Soft Drinks and Grains are important sub-sectors of the food processing industry. Health food and health food supplements is another rapidly rising segment of this industry which is gaining vast popularity amongst the health conscious.

Despite being one of the worlds major food producers, India only accounts for less than 1.5 per cent of international food trade. This indicates vast scope for both investors and exporters. Food exports in 1998 stood at US $5.8 billion whereas the world total was US $438 billion. The Indian food industries sales turnover is Rs 140,000 crore (1 crore = 10 million) annually as at the start of year 2000. The industry has the highest number of plants approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) outside the United States.

Food processing sector covers fruit and vegetables; meat and poultry; milk and milk products, alcoholic beverages, fisheries, plantation, grain processing and other consumer product groups like confectionery, chocolates and cocoa products, Soya-based products, mineral water, high protein foods etc. The most promising sub-sectors includes -Soft-drink bottling, Confectionery manufacture, Fishing, aquaculture, Grain-milling and grain-based products, Meat and poultry processing, Alcoholic beverages, Milk processing, Tomato paste, Fast-food, Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, Food additives, flavors etc.

Weather dulls hopes of good mango yield

The cent per cent flowering of mango trees this January had painted a rosy picture for a good yield of the fruit in the state. However, the recent cloudy and stormy weather in some parts of the state, coupled with rainfall in several other places, has resulted in excessive fruit and flower drop. This has left mango farmers staring at a shortfall in production and a possible price rise too this year. Experts believe that the mango season will only last for 35-45 days this time.

G M Waghmare, officer-in-charge at the Fruit Research Station in Aurangabad, said the recent rainfall in Aurangabad led to considerable flower and fruit drop. "Mango trees bear two types of flowers - male and hermaphrodite. It is the latter that bears fruits. Though the male flower drop is considerable every year, the recent weather conditions resulted in hermaphrodite flowers declining too, leading to a 25-30 per cent fruit and flower drop. Also, in such weather conditions, fruits tend to catch diseases such as anthracnose," he said.

Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-10/pune/28676751_1_mango-production-mango-farmers-mango-season