CHENNAI: Indian economy requires a growth rate of 9 per cent or more, to become a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025 and the food industry should commit itself to grow with speed and with scale for offering food safety and security to all of its citizens, according to Governor Banwarilal Purohit.
Inaugurating the 13th Edition of Foodpro 2019, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), he said as of now, the food processing industry contributed to around 9 per cent of the country’s manufacturing output and the sector witnessed a growth of 11 per cent. It is expected to touch USD 600 billion milestone next year, he added.
Stating that the food processing sector offered employment to close to 12.8 per cent of the workforce in the organised sector and about 13.7 per cent in the unorganised sector, the Governor said that there should be concerted efforts to share the growth story with the farmers of the country.
Rameswar Teli, Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, said three out of 12 schemes proposed in Tamil Nadu, have been completed and there are efforts to create mega and mini food parks in the State with the allocation of 50 acres and 10 acres of land, respectively.
R Kamaraj, Tamil Nadu Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, said the State had set aside Rs 482 crore for the food processing sector in the form of various schemes to benefit the farming community. He also said that Tamil Nadu showed the way to others in terms of creating food security to the people. Dr K Ellangovan, Kerala’s Industries and Commerce secretary, said Kerala had two food parks and five industrial parks, with a great focus on developing MSMEs.