India is a land of lands. Not only is the
primary occupation agriculture here but also due to various culture
diversification, there are a variety of foods to be found here. And now with
the ever increasing use of technology, India has become one of the leading
exporters in food and food materials.
India‘s level of processing food
material is also quite high considering how backwards it was not so long
ago. The level of processing fruits and vegetables has increased upto 6%,
around 38% for milk, 22% for meat and around 9% for poultry products.
The operation, ‘white flood’ was
implemented in 1950s and 1960s. This execution met with a phenomenal success
rate. Today, India is amongst the top 3 producers of milk and milk
products. The total dairy industry in India is expected to soar upto 83
million US $ by 2015. The major and perhaps the most vital contribution
comes from the processed milk and milk products which fetches nearly 75%in
value terms and 25% in volume terms.
The major contribution comes from the
unorganized sector in the form of milk products such as sweets, home-made ghee
(clarified butter), yogurt, curd, butter milk and sweet butter milk (lassi),
etc.
The Beer and wine industry is one of the
most upcoming sectors in the Indian food industry. The consumption of beer is
growing annually at a rough estimate of 7%. India is witnessing a high growth
in the same sector at the rate of 30%. The total market size of beer and wine
industry is expected to grow upto US $ 5 billion by 2015, with a major
contribution coming from India alone.
In the current thriving
scenario, India needs to establish an incorporated supply chain which should include
warehousing, cold chain and transport from farm gates to the food plates for
strong backward and forward integrations.
The public-private partnerships should be
allowed and encouraged in the joint infrastructure project sectors, R&D
capacity, sharing of information and international branding, etc. A
standard transfer is required in the production system from supply driven
towards market demanding driven production. It will require a collective
endeavor by all stakeholders which includes R&D organizations, extensions,
market players and the government machinery and infrastructure.
Transfer of technology, capacity building
and upgradation of skills, strong links are necessary to be re-built to
transfer the technology that has been developed in isolation at various public
and private sectors to identify research organizations to their respective
targeted beneficiaries.