Food processing ministry to invest Rs 241 cr in abattoirs

The Union ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI) is focusing on schemes to scale up infrastructure projects for the food processing industry, and would invest around Rs 241 crore in setting up new abattoirs and modernising the existing ones, said a senior official from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

At a conference on meat processing technologies organised by the Tamil Nadu Technology Development and Promotion Centre (TNDPC) of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), B S Prakash, assistant director general (AN&P), ICAR, said that the MoFPI would make investments to create a brand value for the Indian wholesome hygienic meat products and byproducts. The ministry is initiating schemes to upgrade infrastructure for the food processing industry, and as part of this, would invest Rs 241 crore in setting up new abattoirs and upgrading the existing ones. It would invite expressions of interest for the empanelment of zone-wise project management for the scheme, he added.

Even as the country has considerable livestock population, the export of meat and meat products is less than 3 per cent. The industry and academia should work together to reduce the challenges and enhance meat production in the country, he said.

Hyderabad-based National Research Centre on Meat (NRCM) has plans to collaborate with TNDPC to start training programmes for the entrepreneurs in the sector.

A K Srikanth, chief executive officer of Alchemist Foods (Private) Ltd, said that India produced around 6.5 million tonne of meat in 2010-11, which was around 2.2 per cent of the global meat production. However, only around 1.1 per cent of it is conv-erted into value-added products like sausages, kababs and meat balls, while the world average is 70-72 per cent.