Ministry keen on boosting Tamil Nadu’s food processing sector

Assocham, Tamil Nadu recently organised a conclave on “Food Retailing in India: Perspective & Opportunities” in association with Ministry of Food Processing Industries. The conclave was inaugurated by Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Union Minister for State for Food Processing Industries, in the presence of Ravindra Sannareddy, Chairman, Assocham Southern Region & Founder MD, Sri City (P) Ltd, Dr Vinod Surana, Co-Chairman, Assocham Southern Region, Dr S Narayanan, Chairman, Assocham TN Agri & Food Processing Committee, Dr C Anandharamakrishnan, Director IICPT and SNA Jinnah, CGM, NABARD. 

The main objective of this conclave was – for the Ministry of Food Processing Industries to set the target of doubling the food processing. Assocham, Tamil Nadu took the lead in bringing together all the states to set up food processing centres across the state.

The Minister said, “From 2008 to 2014, two mega food parks were established in the country. Starting from 2014 and until now, approvals have been given for setting up eight more mega food parks in India. Since Tamil Nadu has great potential, MFPI is keen on bringing all stakeholders under one roof to further strengthen the FPI. MFPI has recently given approval for setting up Ratnagiri Food Park in Coimbatore. The ministry is supporting the industry by providing skill development program in food processing under IPPT Thanjavur.

Commenting on the conclave, Sannareddy, said, “India is one of the leading exporters of the processed food products. It has a competitive edge over other countries due to the wide variety of crops cultivated as a result of geographical and climatic diversity. The Government is trying to support the industry by formulating favourable policies. MFPI has aggressively announced various schemes such as Mega Food Parks, Focus on Infrastructure Development, creation of storage facilities and other Tax and related incentives to accelerate the growth of the industry across the nation.” 

He adds, “FPI in India is a sunrise sector that has gained prominence in the recent years due to easy availability of raw materials, changing lifestyles and favourable fiscal policies has given a considerable push to the industry’s growth. However, a few challenges remain to be addressed. The opportunity in food processing industry is vast, but so are the challenges that ail the sector. These challenges are not new ones, nor are the solutions unknown. The sector needs to become self-sustaining and viable as business propositions so that stakeholders are not affected by the uncertainties of financial resources, policies and markets.”