India’s agricultural and processed food products exports touched USD 21.5 billion during the period starting from April 2021 to February 2022. APEDA holds a share of more than 5 percent when it comes to attaining a target of USD 400 billion worth of mercantile exports in the current fiscal.
Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi lauded farmers, MSMEs manufacturers and exporters, as India had been able to achieve the ambitious target of export of goods worth USD 400 Billion nine days ahead of the schedule for the current fiscal. APEDA had focused on export of Geographical Indication (GI) tagged products and had facilitated trial shipments of unique products from various regions as per schedule in the current fiscal.
Key Facts
• The FDI equity inflow in the Food Processing Sector for the period of April 2021-March 2022 was US$ 709.72 million;
• India’s Food Processing Market may touch US$ 470 billion by 2025;
• The export of products under the Ready to Eat (RTE), Ready to Cook (RTC) and Ready to Serve (RTS) categories have registered a CAGR of 10.4% during the period starting from 2011-12 to 2020-21;
• India exported more than US$ 2.14 billion worth of final food products in 2020-21. The major destinations for RTE exports as per data available in 2020-21 were the U.S.A., U.A.E. and Nepal;
• The major exporting destinations for RTC products in 2020-21 were U.S.A, Malaysia and U.A.E;
• The total FDI received in the food processing sector since April 2014 till December 2021 amounted to US$5.15 billion.
Prevailing Opportunities in Processed Indian Traditional Foods
Traditional foods have started entering into the market in a new ‘avatar’ now. Idli, Vada and Gulab Jamun mixes have adorned the shopping malls today with long shelf-life and new packing techniques. There has been a drastic change in the eating habits of the Indians due to the transition in their lifestyles. Processed Indian Traditional Foods has witnessed incremental attention in recent years, due to FSSAI regulations, technology developments, social changes and many more macro developments. Trends observed with changing consumer perception towards traditional tastes with healthier options. Rising demand for Indian products in the global market is evident from the presence of Haldiram’s and Bikanervala. India exports processed foods to more than 100 countries/regions – Middle East, Southeast Asia, SAARC countries, the European Union (EU) and the US.
Changes in Consumption of Traditional Foods
In developing countries like India, an entirely new range of processed foods have flooded the Indian Market like never before. There is a vast difference between the consumer of yesteryears and the new-age consumer due to rapid urbanization. There has been a drastic change in the consumer buying behaviour, particularly among the women too, such as the habit of frequently dining out, engaging in full-time jobs, apart from strongly being influenced by the media. It has been reported that the armed forces are the single largest users of convenience healthy foods – 40% consumption. Microbiological specifications have been laid down for products like pre-cooked dehydrated pulav, khichdi, upma, halwa, chapatis, chikkis and omlette mix (Ready-to-Cook). All foods except chapathi and chikki are available as Ready-to-Cook foods that only require heat treatment prior to consumption. For instance, technologies have been developed by which chapatis can be stored for a period of over six months. Other products such as instant rice, pulav, khichdi, halwa, etc., have been mainly developed for armed forces to provide greater efficiency and convenience when they are sent to the field.
Traditional Foods – Modern Functions
Traditional foods enjoy immense popularity, owing to certain distinct properties prevalent in them. They augment food security, generate employment, improve nutritional status and add variety to dietary regimen.
• Food Security
The technologies that are used to produce traditional food products have been employed for generations to preserve food for consumption at a later date and to improve food security.
• Income and Employment
Traditional food products are found to be an important source of income and employment for millions of people around the world, particularly for the vulnerable and marginalized sections of society.
Nutritional Status
Traditional foods being rich sources of almost all nutrients help in improving the nutritional status of people to a larger extent.
• ‘Spicy’ not ‘bland’
Pickles and chutneys are used to enhance the overall flavour of the meal. Pickles are one of the most important commodities among traditional food products exported from India.
Medicinal Benefits of Processed Indian Traditional Foods
Several traditional foods have been endowed with different kinds of medicinal benefits. In South India, ‘ugadi pachadi’,which consists of neem, mango, jaggery that also provides five different tastes is consumed on traditional ‘New years’ day. It is commonly believed that ‘ugadi pachadi’ has a laxative effect while idli serves as an antacid. ‘Sunnundalu’ (made of barley, rice, jowar) is curative for urinary tract infection. ‘Ariselu’ is believed to raise the bulk of the faeces and thereby serve as a laxative.
There are many traditional beliefs passed on through generations that continue to exist among consumers, who believe in the medicinal properties prevalent in traditional food products. This also comes from a sound scientific basis which is mentioned below:
i. Certain lactic acid bacteria (eg. Lactobacillus acidophilus) and moulds have been found to produce antibodies and bacteriocins;
ii. Ingestion of foods containing live lactic acid bacteria is likely to improve resistance against diarrhoea causing microorganisms;
iii. Substances in traditional fermented foods have a protective effect against certain types of cancer.
Processed Traditional Beverages
The organized traditional Beverage Market in India is small. However, it has started to progress rapidly in the recent years. On the other hand, the unorganized market holds a substantial market share even today. Due to the growing demand for healthier alternatives, traditional beverage sector in India has the potential to dominate the beverages market. The range of traditional beverages without additives or artificial flavours is mentioned below:
1. Panakam (South)
2. Kokum, Thandai (North)
3. AamPanna, Golgappapani, Lassi, Flavoured milk shakes (curcumin, mango, etc.)
In a market that is mostly dominated by soft drink multinationals, products such as Panna, JalJeera, a variety of Lassi products, nimboo (lemon soda), kachaaam (raw mango) soda and shikanji (Indian lemonade), tender coconut water and sugarcane juice are also gaining more consumer acceptance.
Processed Traditional Snacks
The Indian Savoury Snacks Market can be broadly segmented into western snacks and traditional snacks. Western snacks continue to dominate the organized market, with the unorganized market continuing to dominate in the traditional snacks category with ethnic flavours. Indian snack manufacturers are introducing value-added products in various traditional flavours, textures and seasonings. The trend indicates that the consumption of traditional snacks has been increasing,with the leading players in the International Market entering the sector.The two main categories of flavours used in snacks are traditional flavours and international flavours.
1. Traditional flavours – chilli, masala, tomato, ginger, garlic;
2. International flavours – BBQ, Jalapeno, Pizza, Maggie and Mexican.
Many key players in the Namkeen Market have introduced new products by using the traditional masala flavours, some of them being (Chatkeens lite chiwda, Chatkeen Gujarati mixture, Chatkeen farali chiwda, etc.)
Processed Traditional Sweets
The Indian Sweets Market is largely unorganized and classified under various segments that include dairy, cereals & pulses, fruit & nuts, including different combinations of different ingredients. Standalone Mithai shops are located throughout India and sell regional as well as traditional sweets such as Gulab Jamun, Rasgulla and a variety of Barfis. Product offerings from organized players in the Indian Sweets Market include tinned Gulab Jamun, Rasgulla, Bengali mithai and so on. Recently, KitKat Cheerful Break Mango Flavour was launched in India, which had come with a traditional taste and aroma of traditional Indian alphonso mango.
Challenges Faced By Micro Food Processing Sector in India
Snacks, beverages and sweets are key Processed Indian Traditional Foods (PITF) sectors with enormous potential. However, they are largely untapped in India due to unorganized disposition. Since global key players recognize the potential of the Indian Market, they tailor their products to traditional tastes. Huge opportunities are available for start-ups and private equity companies. If Indian companies fail, International companies will occupy this space.Food producers have the responsibility of providing healthy, tasty and safe food as per the preference of consumers. All the stakeholders who generally include the Government, Food Industry, Consumers and Nutritionists should agree for it to be a winning game for all. At first, we are committed to addressing PITF’s key issues such as affordability, packaging, processing technologies, ingredient price stability, availability, shelf life, fresh taste, nutrition, taxation, technology and innovation.
Market Potential for Processed Indian Traditional Foods
Marketing of traditional foods to other nations across the globe is mostly targeted at two consumer groups. The first being the Indians population who are residing abroad and the other being the bulk of the native population residing in their respective countries. Product modification particularly with respect to reduction of spices, fat and/or sugar is necessary to promote their acceptance. The export of Indian foods abroad can be promoted by the orientation of more Indian restaurants in important cities of western countries. The entire world is inescapably caught in the web of globalization. The vast market potential for Indian traditional foods abroad requires further improvements in the coming days. Attractive packaging, displaying increased shelf-life and better microbiological ‘safety are some of the features that can go a long way in increasing the popularity for traditional Indian foods in the market.
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