Kaul spoke about the low levels of food processing in the country provide big opportunities. She highlighted that India is the second largest producer of fish in the world as it recorded 10.07 MT production in 2015-16. However, according to Kaul, the processing of marine products was as low as 25%.

Speaking about the meat and poultry sector, Kaul said, even though India is one of the top producers in meat and poultry segment, the processing is limited to 21% and 6% respectively. 

Kaul highlighted the benefits of investing in India’s food processing sector. “We are the fastest growing economy in the world and fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity. There are 1.32 billion consumers with increasing demand for branded food. Plus there’s easy access to world class ports, logistics and supply chain infrastructure.”

Kaul also spoke about the government policies and incentives for the sector. “In terms of policies, there’s 100% FDI through automatic route in food processing. Also, 100% FDI is allowed under government approved route for trading, and ecommerce for food products manufactured in India. Going further ahead, we have harmonised the domestic food safety standards with the international standards thus providing supportive regulatory framework.”

“42 mega food parks are being set up in the country with an investment of USD 750 mn of which eight mega food parks are already operational. These food parks work on hub and spoke model. In addition to this, there are 236 integrated cold chain projects being set up of which 100 are already completed.”