Government targets 25% food processing levels by 2031, seeks investments

The government is aiming to increase overall levels of food processing to 25 per cent by 2031 from 17 per cent in 2023, Food Processing Secretary Avinash Joshi said on Thursday. Noting that the PLI scheme for the food processing sector has been one of the most successful schemes, he added that the Ministry is looking at other measures to encourage enhanced investments in the sector. He also urged the industry to ensure compliance with food safety regulations and to promote healthier choices and responsible processing practices.

Referring to a recent Crisil report, Joshi said that the country’s processing levels have increased from about 10 per cent in 2010-11 to 17 per cent in 2023. “Internally, we have a target to increase it to at least 25 per cent by 2031. An increase in the processing level would help in value addition, boost exports and also create a lot of positives for the primary, secondary, as well as the tertiary sector market,” he added.

“A few days back, we had the opportunity to talk to the Prime Minister. So there, we said that to take this processing level to 25 per cent at least, we need some national processing mission or PLI 2.0 or whatever name we give to the scheme, because this sector needs enhanced investment in a very short period of time,” Joshi said while speaking at a FICCI event

He also stressed the need to develop facilities that help export promotion and import substitution, especially in segments such as edible oils that require a scalable transformation. “One more thing that the government has started working on is to create a Bharat brand for processed food. What we are planning to do through this Bharat brand platform is to give visibility to Indian cuisines and Indian alcoholic beverages. Today, we are exporting a lot of ready-to-eat and processed food which caters largely to the Indian diaspora, but it’s important to start thinking of global consumers for scalable transformation,” Joshi added.

Talking about the PLI scheme, which is being implemented with a total financial outlay of ₹10,900 crore, Joshi said it has been one of the most successful schemes as it has achieved all targets in terms of employment generation, committed investments, exports and value addition.

He added that the Ministry is conceptualising interventions based on consultations with the industry to ensure that the food processing sector is placed at the forefront of development.