There are huge opportunities across entire food value chain: President

The Dollar Business Bureau

India’s food consumption is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2025 and the entire food value chain in the country offers immense opportunities for domestic as well as foreign investors, said President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday.

This is a sector having ‘huge business appetite’ and has potential for generating employment for the huge young population and women of India, the President said, while speaking at the World Food India 2017.

He further said that by putting focus on food processing will not only help in cutting down ‘unacceptable level’ of wastage of food in the country but also help in doubling the income of farmers.

“Food is culture but food is also commerce. India’s food consumption is currently valued at $370 billion. It is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2025, in less than a decade. There are opportunities across the entire food value chain in India,” the President said.

There are enormous opportunities in the field of such as logistics, post-harvest facilities, manufacturing and cold chains, Kovind said, while adding that these are the major areas to attract foreign and domestic investments.

On international level, there is a huge market for Indian food products, he said.

“It extends from 1.8 billion people in South Asia to a 30 million strong diaspora population, and to millions more in all parts of the world,” he added.

The President stated that things can changed with a focused approach on modern food processing, and added that both investment and technological solutions are needed to cut wastage of food which is at a regrettable level at present.

While giving example, he said that nearly 16% of the guava crop is wasted in the country, as also the 10% of apple and mango crops.

The President exuded confidence that the country can produce products for domestic as well as international markets.

“This would insulate both farmers and consumers from price shocks, and go a long way in ensuring remunerative incomes for the agricultural community,” he said.