The investment outlook

NEELKANTH MISHRA: I was told by the Canadian consulate that McCain has a very large potato processing plant in Gujarat, a single location which supplies potatoes for all of McDonald's and Burger King, very high-end quality material. So there is investment now starting to happen given that evaluation is available, electricity is available, farmers are more informed and APMC has been repealed. It is very hard to quantify whether it will be Rs 10,000 crore or 20,000 crore, but the ecosystem is now ready and it is a matter of time.

DILIP RATH: We have estimated a strong increase in supply which will feed the organised processing sector. We think that this represents an investment requirement of Rs 16,000 crore including creation of drying and value added product capacities. Our estimates are that the dairy industry needs to create additional capacities of about 500 lakh litres of milk per day, which will definitely need that kind of money.

For co-operatives, the Government has recently announced a new scheme, Dairy Processing & Infrastructure Development Fund with a total outlay of Rs 10,800 crore, for cooperative enterprises to invest in expansion and refurbishment of processing capacities over the next three years. It will be channelised through NABARD and NDDB.

The rate of interest would be 6.5 per cent, with a subsidy component too. Since cooperatives pass on about 75 per cent to 80 per cent of the consumer rupee to the milk producer, this investment will see tremendous benefits flow to producers. It will help create huge employment and income opportunities in rural areas.

Also, it is relevant to note that, for food processing in general, the Government of India has also announced another new scheme called Kisan Sampada Yojana. A provision of Rs 6,000 crore is for a seed fund, which can leverage a total investment about Rs 30,000 crore. This will see huge benefits coming to producers, processors and consumers. With all these opportunities, we really do see that food processing is a goldmine for all the stakeholders involved, starting from growers, as farmers, processors, the consumers and technology suppliers, service providers, entire range of people who will get involved in this surging economic activity in the coming years.