Bengaluru: India is betting big on the food processing sector, contributing 7.7% to the total manufacturing GVA (gross value added), a report by Deloitte and FICCI out on Tuesday showed. The most pronounced growth, however, has been in packaged foods, with spending nearly tripling from 9% to 23% over the same period underscoring the rapid rise of convenience and value-added consumption.
The report dwelled on the food processing industry improving food security, notwithstanding that India stood at 105th position out of 127 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2024, placing it in the "serious" category for hunger levels.
Presently, the agriculture and food processing sector, representing nearly 30% of the national food market, is gaining momentum due to rising rural demand. Rural markets have been outperformed by urban markets on the back of a good monsoon last year.
Household expenditure patterns have undergone a marked transformation. Spending on cereals and pulses has declined sharply, from 40% in 2000 to 14% in 2024, signalling a shift away from traditional staples. Concurrently, allocation towards protein-rich items such as eggs, fish and meat has increased from 6% to 10% between 2000 and 2023.