Food processing sector to create 2 lakh jobs in Bengal: Report

The food processing sector in West Bengal is expected to grow nine-fold to Rs 35,745 crore by 2020 and create more than two lakh jobs, a CII-KPMG report said today.
According to the report titled 'Developing the Food Processing industry in West Bengal', nearly 2,20,000 new jobs would be generated in the sector from 2017 to 2022.
The report was unveiled at the CII-organised 'Food Processing Conclave: Make in Bengal' here.
As a gateway to the North-Eastern states and with easy connectivity with the rest of the country and international markets, specially South-East and East Asia, West Bengal boasts of six agro-climatic zones, all-weather roads, uninterrupted power supply and enabling policies, the report noted.

"Not only does West Bengal provide policy incentives such as VAT exemptions for up to 15 years and electricity duty waiver for small scale units, it also offers financial incentives to entrepreneurs for setting up and modernisation of food processing and cold-chain units," said Rear Admiral (Retd) A K Verma, Chairman CII Eastern Region, and CMD, GRSE Ltd.
Between August 2013 and August 2014, 50 food processing projects came up in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industry, the report said.

Entry tax on raw materials procured from other states makes majority units in this sector unviable.
"Given the surging demand for processed food, there is tremendous opportunity for growth in this sector. Currently, less than 10 per cent of the country's agri-produce is processed.

"This is as low as 2 per cent for fruits and vegetables, compared to Brazil with 70 per cent, Malaysia with 80 per cent, Philippines with 78 per cent, Thailand with 30 per cent, US with 65 per cent and China with 40 per cent," said Sanjiv Puri, Chairman, CII Eastern Region, Agriculture and Food Processing Taskforce and Executive Director, ITC Limited.
He said growth in food processing will boost agri produce exports and "this would, in turn, increase the average annual income of an Indian farmer from Rs 22,000 in 2011 to Rs 90,000 by 2030."
Saugat Mukherjee, Regional Director, CII Eastern Region, described West Bengal as a state with tremendous potential in food processing.

It is the second largest producer of potato and litchis and the leader in inland fisheries, Mukherjee said.
"West Bengal can be developed as a hub for cold storage, grading and sorting, processing for value additions and packaging of products for the North-East and neighbouring countries of Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.