FDI in food processing sector down 54% to Rs 2,934 crore last fiscal

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in food processing sector declined 54 per cent to Rs 2,934.12 crore in 2020-21 as compared to the previous year, the government said on Friday.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Prahlad Singh Patel informed that the FDI in the food processing sector stood at Rs 4,430.44 crore in 2018-19, Rs 6,414.67 crore during 2019-20 and Rs 2,934.12 crore during the 2020-21 financial year.

The minister said that the FDI inflows in the food processing sector stood at USD 393.41 million in 2020-21 as against USD 904.70 million in the previous year.

During the 2018-19 fiscal, the FDI inflow was USD 628.24 million, while the FDI was USD 904.9 million in 2017-18 and USD 727.22 million in 2016-17.

Patel informed that 100 per cent FDI is permitted under the automatic route for the sector.

"The share of FDI in the food processing sector is only 1.5 per cent of total FDI inflows and the sector needs more investments both domestic as well as foreign direct investment," Patel said.

The Ministry is implementing a central sector scheme Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) since 2016-17 for overall growth and development of food processing sector including for boosting investment, he added.

Patel said the ministry is also implementing a centrally sponsored scheme-PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PM FME) to upgrade and support 2 lakh micro food processing units through credit linked subsidy based on One District One Product (ODOP) approach.