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“Avenues in food processing industry untapped”

PUDUCHERRY: With plenty of opportunities in food processing industries, the potential remained totally untapped leading to tremendous loss of raw materials, Director of Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology (IICPT), Thanjavur K. Alagusundaram said on Thursday.

Talking on “Business Prospects in Food Processing in India” at the two-day seminar on “Boundless Prospects in Grain Processing and By-Product Utilisation,” he said only less than three per cent of the total food produce was processed in India.

“India is the third largest producer of food grains in the world and first largest producers of fruits and vegetables. Every year, there is a loss of 10 to 30 per cent in food grains and 25 to 50 per cent on fruits, vegetables amounting to Rs. 54,000 crore,” he said.

The seminar, organised by the Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology and funded by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, aimed at making people aware of the technologies available for food processing.

The target groups were members of self help groups, farmers, students and researchers.

“India had shown the world the path of green revolution, insufficiency to self sufficiency in phenomenally short period of time. But there were 1,50,000 farmer suicides in the last seven years, the highest in the world,” he pointed out.

At present, the country had huge harvests, huge losses, inadequate domestic supply, low processing rates and low export earnings,” he added.

He said India was a land of exotic fruits and vegetables such as drumstick, jackfruit, cucumber and pumpkin.

Suggesting means to generate income for SHGs, he said a kg of cucumber was Rs.five here but the same quantity of cucumber in a bottle with vinegar cost Rs. 100 in foreign countries. Drumstick had a big market in the international market, Mr. Alagusundaram pointed out.

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