(a) whether a large amount of agricultural food produce are
wasted in the country due to lack of sufficient processing facilities;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the details of food processing capacity / facilities
required in terms of quantity and investment, State-wise;
(d) the present food processing capacity/ facilities
available in the country, State-wise;and
(e) the steps taken to achieve the required capacity in the
country?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES(SHRI HARISH RAWAT)
(a) & (b): Yes, Sir. As per a study conducted by the
Central Institute for Post Harvest Engineering & Technology,
Ludhiana, post harvest losses in 2009 were estimated to be
Rs.44,000 crore.
(c): As per the Vision 2015 document of the Ministry, it has
been estimated that an investment of Rs.1,00,000 crore shall
be required, from 2005 to 2015, to increase the processing
levels of perishables to 20%, value addition to 35% and
share in global trade to 3%. No state-wise estimates are
available.
(d): The Ministry does not maintain data on such
capacities/facilities in the country. However, as per a
March 2009 report by National Manufacturing Competitiveness
Council on ‘Enhancing Competitiveness of the Indian
Manufacturing Industry “Assistance in Policy Making’, there
were 25,352 registered food processing factories in
operation in the country.
(e): The Ministry is implementing a number of plan schemes
to assist the entrepreneurs in setting up food processing
capacities/facilities in the country.