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We are going foody! Take Care!
Saurabh Bhade
Sep 2008
Sep 2008
Page 1 of 2
The booming Indian Economy has brought growth and development in all sectors. It is due to this development that poverty levels have fallen from a whopping 37% to just 22% over the last fifteen years. In case this growth rate goes on, this figure shall further come down. According to World Bank Projections, "South Asia, led by continuing growth in India, is likely to reach or exceed the target (the first Millennium Development Goal of reducing Poverty by 2015)” With the fall in poverty levels the growth in the Food Market has also been tremendous and it is emerging as a major market. India's food production has crossed the period of scarcity to surplus and over the next few years it is on the assured path of growth and profit.
The Indian Food Market comprises of many items such as canning, Dairy Products, Food Processing, Snacks, Frozen Foods, and Retail Sector. We are very good up to the pre-harvest of the crop, but are not well equipped for the post harvest of the crops. It is estimated that around 25% of our crops are destroyed due to poor handling post harvest. The infrastructure for this is being improved, and with the onset of foreign investments in this segment these losses are also likely to be reduced. In spite of having a huge food market presently, we still account for just 1.5% of the international food trade.
A study by the Mckinsey & Co, a report by the US Department of Agriculture says, “The market size for the food consumption category in India is expected to grow from $155 billion in 2005 to $344 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate of 4.1%.”Some of the reasons for the boom in the food sector are- increasing urbanization of the Indian population; dual incomes; high purchasing power; changing attitudes and tastes of people and the ability to offset seasonal supply and demand effects in fresh products. The Government of India in order to make the Indian food market a more profitable sector has initiated the Integrated Food Law, which deals with the quality standards of food.
The agriculture sector has come a long way since Independence. With the advent of green revolution, India has transformed itself from a country of shortages to a land of surpluses.
Some of the achievements of Indian agriculture are listed below:
1. Second largest producer of rice and wheat, pulses, fruits and vegetables
2. Largest producer of sugarcane, milk, coconut, spice, cashew
3. Record food-grains output of 208.9 million tonnes including 89.5 million tonnes of rice and 75.6 million tonnes of wheat
4. Oilseeds production at 20.9 million tones
5. Sugarcane at a new peak of 299.2 m tones
6. Largest producer of milk in the world with 78.1 million tonnes of milk
Our farmers have achieved the above even when the yield is the lowest as compared to
USA and China:
Yield - Kg per Hectare
Country Rice Wheat
USA 7,694 2,825
China 6,265 4,455
India 3,124 2,619
In India 56% of food grains are produced from 47 million hectares of irrigated land while the remaining 44% are produced from 95 million hectares of rain dependent land. Crop yield will shoot up with investment in irrigation, supplemented with soil testing and scientific application of fertilizers. Agriculture is the dominant sector of Indian Economy, which determines growth and sustainability. About 65% of the population still relies on agriculture for employment and livelihood. In 2001, India even began to export grain, though critics claim this impressive achievement was gained at the expense of India's poor. Only two years later, in 2003, India had to reverse the funnel and import grain, something, it had not done in decades. Ever since
India has imported more and more of its food. Panic- buying by India is credited with helping to raise the price of wheat in global markets by more than 100%. This year the government agencies have procured around 22.54 million tonnes of wheat during the current Rabi, which is sufficient to meet all our demands.
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