Country's food processing industry, which is attracting the foreign investors, has received a record of 106.4 million euro (about Rs 600 crore) investments from private equity firms this year so far, a latest report says.
The food and beverage sector which got PE investments of a mere 4.2 euro million in two deals last year, saw the funds soar to 106.4 million euro through 11 deals already this year, consultancy firm KPMG and industry chamber FICCI said in a joint report released here today.
The report also said foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals in food processing sector more than doubled to 98 million dollar in 2006-07 from 42 million dollar in 2005-06. It also said the FDI in the F&B sector is likely to cross 2.1 billion euro in 2007-08.
“There appears to be high scope for consolidation in a fragmented market, with most businesses promising good and sustainable returns. In fact, companies are recording higher growth rate from this sector compared to the home and personal care segment,” the report said.
Multinational companies are betting on India as a source to feed the world.
Highlighting that India is the world's second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, the KPMG-FICCI report said the processed food market accounts for 32 per cent of the total food market of the country which is valued at 67.9 billion euro.
Large investors and corporations, both Indian and international, are capitalising on the Indian agri-business as an emerging market with twin opportunities — to tap the middle-class and to export processed food, it said.
Source: Zee News