Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 29 (IANS) A delegation from the Polish food processing industry is likely to visit India to explore investment opportunities in this country and especially in Bihar, according to a senior official of the embassy of Poland.
Participating in the International Summit on Food Processing and Agribusiness here Wednesday, Polish embassy official M.M. Gogia, speaking on behalf of Dariusz Karwowoski, commercial counsellor, embassy of Poland, said: “We are trying to arrange a visit to India by a delegation of entrepreneurs from Poland’s food processing industry to explore investment opportunities here.”

Gogia was responding to an invitation by Ashok Kumar Sinha, principal secretary (industry) in the Bihar government for Polish investments in the state’s food processing sector.

Earlier, Tuesday, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahai, while inaugurating the summit, reminded investors that food processing was now a “zero tax” sector and sought large investments across the entire farm to factory value chain.

“The food processing sector is now a tax-less sector as processing units enjoys income tax holiday for 10 years, there are no taxes on inputs such as raw materials and plant and machinery, and there are no taxes on finished products either,” Sahai said.

He also released a White Paper at the summit organised by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries and industry lobby Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).

Sahai said that during the debate on the union budget for 2009-10 in parliament Monday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had announced that the 10-year tax holiday had been extended to processing units for all perishables. Earlier this incentive was only for units processing fruits and vegetables.

The budget had also announced investment-linked incentives for cold chain and warehousing facilities, Sahai said.

He said he had also talked to Railway Minister Mamata Bannerjee and she had promised to provide railway land for setting up food processing units. This would enable such units to get power from the railway’s connection even if they are being set up in areas where rural electrification had not taken place.

“The railways have also introduced special trains for carrying perishables,” Sahai said.

As a result of all these incentives and government interventions, the food processing sector has now become a very attractive destination for both domestic and foreign investors. He urged investors to invest in a big way in food processing units, cold chain corridors, warehousing facilities and primary processing units.

The White Paper titled “Food processing and agribusiness: Emerging opportunities and strategic thrust areas for the industry” has been prepared by consulting major KPMG.

Speaking on the contents of the white paper, KPMG executive director Ramesh Srinivas said that India’s food processing sector represented a huge opportunity from many points of view.

First, food is the largest consumption category in India and demand for food will only keep rising, which cannot be said of other industries. The size of the Indian food industry was $180 billion while processing industry accounted for only $67 billion.

Second, 52 percent of India’s land area was cultivable against a global average of 11 percent. Third, India has all the 15 different agro-climatic regions found on the planet and 46 different soil types making it ideal for cultivating all kinds of food crops.

As a raw producer, India was among the largest or second largest producer of many items. It was the largest producer of milk and cereals, the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables and so on. Yet, its share in the global food trade was a miniscule 1.6 percent due to a very low level of food processing.

India, therefore, offers a huge potential in terms of rising domestic consumption and as a sourcing hub for the world food market, Srinivas said.