Role of MSMEs in driving food industry growth

The food processing industry stands at the threshold of a transformative era.

- SATEESH KULKARNI

Synopsis

The coming years are expected to see India's food processing sector undergo an unprecedented expansion. The market size is likely to grow from $307 billion in 2023 to $535 billion in 2025 and expected to touch $700 billion by 2030. This sector is expected to generate 9 million jobs by 2025.

This growth presents a significant opportunity for Medium & Small Manufacturing Enterprises (MSMEs) engaged in food processing, supply chain, and value-added agriculture.

MSMEs play a pivotal role in India's food processing ecosystem, contributing to local manufacturing, value-added production, and employment generation. As demand for ready-to-eat, organic, and health-conscious food products rises, small and medium enterprises are uniquely positioned to capitalise on this evolving consumer trend. To realise their potential fully, particularly in the global markets, it is imperative for the MSMEs to go to the next level - of production standards, quality certifications, and food safety standards - and adopt state-of-the-art cutting-edge technologies from artificial intelligence and machine learning to robotics and automation and distribution such as e-commerce and direct-to-consumer models to reach international buyers.

In order to give this MSME sector a fillip and impetus to capitalise these opportunities, the government has formulated a number of MSME-focused policies, offered a number of incentives and schemes, announced subsidies as well as support mechanisms. This paper focuses on the various initiatives that have been taken and are in place, to support the food processing industry including MSMEs.

Background