India has potential to emerge food factory of the world:CII

Mumbai, Aug 6 (UNI) India had the potential to emerge the global food factorty with right kind of technologies and regulations are in place for the food processing industry to leap frog to a higher growth trajectory, Confederation of Indian Industry today said.

With a growth of over 15 per cent in the last five years, the food Processing Industry was getting the right attention with the industry poised for an investment of Rs.100,000 crore by 2015 with the market anticipated to cross 102 billion USD by that year, Piruz Khambatta CII National Committee chairman on food and food processing told newsmen here.

He said that though the Centre had opened up to pave way for the higher growth trajectory, it was the states that were lagging behind and said the industry wanted the APMC act to be scrapped and also ensure contract farming become a reality.

Mr Khambatta was briefing newsmen on the forthcoming second edition of Food and Beverage Tech, to be held here in November.

He said according to the joint vision statement on food processing by the Union Ministry for Food Processing and CII the industry had the potential to create 115 million jobs every year.

According to the vision for the year 2015 the level of food processing was expected to touch 20 per cent from six per cent and value addition estimated to cross 35 per cent.

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