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Context

The Prime Minister inaugurated the 4th edition of World Food India (WFI) 2025 in New Delhi.

About World Food India 2025

Organiser: Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Government of India.

Dates: 25th – 28th September 2025

Venue: Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

Purpose: Promote India’s food processing sector through global collaboration, investment, and innovation

Participation: Over 90 countries, 2,000+ exhibitors, Business-to-business (B2B) meetings.

Partner & Focus Countries

• Partner Countries: New Zealand, Saudi Arabia
• Focus Countries: Japan, UAE, Vietnam, Russia

Themes and Objectives

Sustainability: Reduce food wastage, promote eco-friendly practices.

Innovation: Highlight modern processing technologies and business models.

Global Partnerships: Strengthen FDI, exports, and collaborations.

Support MSMEs: Empower local entrepreneurs and improve cold-chain infrastructure.

Government Initiatives: Showcase programs like Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Food Processing Sector in India

Agricultural Leadership: India is the largest producer of milk, onions, and pulses; second-largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, tea, fruits, vegetables, and eggs.

FDI Attraction: $7.33 billion in the last decade.

Rural Employment: Provides jobs and enhances livelihoods in agriculture-dependent areas.

Value Addition & Preservation: Improves quality, reduces wastage, and fetches better prices for farmers.

Export Potential: Indian processed food gaining popularity internationally.

Strategic Importance

World Food India 2025 acts as a global platform for:

• Promoting India as a food processing hub.
• Encouraging international investment and trade.
• Showcasing India’s agricultural diversity, sustainability, and innovation.

Challenges in India’s Food Processing Sector

Lack of Cold Chain and Storage

• Insufficient cold storage and refrigerated transport leads to high post-harvest losses, especially for perishable goods.
• Impacts both food quality and farmers’ income.

Fragmented Supply Chain

• Highly fragmented distribution increases costs and inefficiencies.
• Poor road and rail infrastructure causes delays and losses during transport.

Complex Regulations

• Multiple licenses, permits, and overlapping regulations make compliance difficult.
• Inconsistent enforcement can result in unfair competition and compromise quality standards.

Food Safety Concerns

• Ensuring safety and quality standards across the supply chain remains challenging.
• Adulteration or contamination can harm public health and damage sector reputation.

Limited Research & Development (R&D)

• Low investment restricts innovation and value-added product development.
• India’s R&D expenditure-GDP ratio = 0.7%, below the world average of 1.8%.

Way Forward

Smart Food Processing Hubs

• Integrate IoT, AI, and blockchain to monitor supply chains end-to-end.
• Ensure traceability, efficiency, and quality control from farm to table.

Nutraceutical Innovation

• Develop functional and fortified foods tailored to health needs.
• Include probiotics, bioactive compounds, and essential nutrients to address population health issues.

Zero-Waste Processing

• Use entire raw material, converting waste into biofuels, animal feed, or bioplastics.
• Promote sustainability and cost efficiency.

Community-Based Processing Centers

• Establish rural processing hubs to reduce post-harvest losses.
• Provide employment opportunities and improve local value addition.

Conclusion

Addressing challenges like cold storage, fragmented supply chains, regulatory hurdles, food safety, and low R&D through smart hubs, nutraceutical innovation, zero-waste processing, and rural processing centers can transform India’s food processing sector into a globally competitive, sustainable, and inclusive industry.

Source:  PIB