India’s food industry is expected to grow at a rate of 11 percent annually and reach a value of four lakh crore by 2018. This is good news for stakeholders and even those aspiring to jump on to the bandwagon. This news was revealed through a research report by IIM-Calcutta and Academic Foundation.
What is interesting is that food and grocery account for 31 percent of the consumption spend in India, compared to nine percent in the United States, 17 percent in Brazil and China etc. All this is despite the fact that almost 40 percent of the grain and other agricultural produce in the country are not stored properly and hence is destroyed by the elements and pests.
With the retail market for food expected to double its 2013 value by 2023, there is a lot of hope for the industry here. But, for that to have even better results India needs to work on a few aspects. One large concern is the storage and transport of food. If the country can invite better investment in this sector, the potential for growth, exponential at that, is tremendous. This will encourage foreign investors to pump more money into the sector, all aided by the opening up of foreign direct investment into the country. There is also the matter of backward links to low level producers, farmers and contract manufacturers. Keeping those links strong is paramount.
If India’s food industry grows at this rate, there will come a time when the positive effect on this growth will mean no mouths in the country will go unfed.
