Food Processing Industries and Horticulture

The agro and food processing industries sector is one of the largest in terms of production, consumption, export and growth prospects. This sector ranks fifth in the country in size, employs over 1.6 million workers (20% of the nation’s labour force) and

accounts for 15.19% of total industry output with 5.5% of the GDP. India’s growing domestic demand for value-added processed foods and its self-sufficiency in supply will help in the growth of this sector faster.

The state of West Bengal is a significant producer of many horticulture and agriculture items, which give it a natural advantage to invest in Fruit and Vegetable Processing, Spices and Grain Processing industries. Besides this, the state also produces other Food Products like fish, meat and poultry products in abundance, which also have enormous processing prospects.

The state is a leading producer of many horticulture and agriculture items. It is also a significant producer of freshwater fish, shrimp, eggs and meat. Thus very good investment opportunities exist in the areas of food processing industries, the important ones being: fruit

and vegetable processing, meat, fish and poultry processing, confectionaries, beverages, fast foods and milk products. The growth potential of this sector is enormous and it is expected that processed food production will increase substantially in the next decade with the rapid escalation of the consumption of value-added food products. According to FAIDA report of McKinsey, West Bengal is one of the three front running states in India in the food and agro-processing sector.

The state being a significant producer of fruits and vegetables, especially in items like pineapple, lychee, mango, potato, tomato, green vegetables, mushroom and papaya enjoys key advantage of setting up fruit and vegetable processing units. The processed products of this sector include:

The state being the largest producer of rice and significant producer of oilseeds offers scope for investing in grain processing industries. The potential areas of investment in this sector are as follows:

– Commercial processing of rice which includes products like pre and semi-cooked, rice powder, puffed rice, chira (Indian dried & flattened rice) and rice crispies.

– Commercial utilisation of by-products of Rice Milling such as processing of rice bran for oil & processing of paddy husk are also important sectors of investment.

– The state also has significant presence in the oilseed sector indicating the scope of investment in oilseed processing.

Spices constitute an important item of Indian cuisine. Indian spices are very high in demand especially in the developed markets of the U.S and U.K.

Scope and range of products:
– Products include an assortment of spices ranging from Turmeric powder, Chilli powder, Coriander powder, Cumin powder, Black Pepper powder, Garam-masala and other masala powders.

– Other popular items include Ginger, turmeric and large cardamoms in paste and mixture form.

– Spice pastes and curry pastes are also important items at domestic and international levels.

West Bengal being the largest producer of freshwater fish and second largest producer of shrimps offers extensive investment opportunities in the area of processing of fish. Processed fish are in great demand in international markets. The range of processed fish products include:

A Point to be noted: Export market for shrimps and prawns have been growing exponentially, particularly the Japanese, US and European markets. Hence there is scope for exploring these markets. There is also a growing demand for processed fish from domestic urban hygiene conscious consumers, looking for ease of purchase and quality of products.

The state has favourable climatic conditions for poultry breeding & a large non-vegetarian population, including the captive north-eastern states to generate sufficient quantity of demand for these products.

The state enjoys second position in cattle and poultry population and production leadership across several items like duck meat, and total meat production including poultry.

The state is considered to be one of the most attractive poultry markets in India accounting for 13% of the country’s consumption. It is the highest per capita consumer of eggs and a significant consumer of poultry meat. The state also consumes significant amount of sheep and goat meat. All these above features identify the potentials for investing in poultry and meat processing, which has both domestic and international market demand.

Livestock/Poultry	West Bengal’s share to India
Goat	13.80%
Poultry	13.20 %
Cattle	9.40 %
Pig	8.50 %
Sheep	2.50 %
Buffalo	1.10%

Source: Animal Resources Development Department, Govt. of West Bengal

• MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS

The state of West Bengal offers extensive scope in the area of processed milk products as 90% of the demand for value-added milk products is presently met by imports. Considering the big gap between demand and supply within West Bengal, investments in the dairy sector will be extremely profitable, if properly synchronized and organized.

– Liquid milk: Largest opportunity and potential for processors to provide UHT milk to the urban and semi-urban consumers. There is also scope for supplying milk to the local sweetmeat industry, as this sector requires a huge quantity of milk.

– Processed milk: products like butter, cheese, milk powder, baby food and condensed milk.

– Indian Sweetmeat: West Bengal is considered to be the hub of Indian sweetmeats for its favourite ‘Rosogolla’ and ‘Sandesh’.

– Ice Cream manufacturing: One of the most lucrative of all value added dairy products. But for manufacturing ice creams, the state requires investment in the form of better cold storage and transportation facilities. The state, being one of the few power surplus states in the country, enjoys an advantage in this aspect.

The state is well poised to invest in this segment as demand for these products is growing at a rapid pace. The range of products include Confectioneries, Chocolates, Cocoa products, Soya-based products, Ready to eat foods, Soft drinks, Mineral water, High Protein foods etc.