Sustained by high agricultural output, international demand and a strong domestic market, the Indian food industry offers ample scope for large investments in processing technologies, skills and equipment, packaging, refrigeration of frozen food and thermo processing.

Currently, six per cent of the country`s fruit and vegetable produce is processed and India`s share of the global market stands close to 0.03 per cent. While the size of the global processed-food market is estimated at US$ 3.2 trillion and nearly 80 per cent of agricultural products in the developed countries get processed and packaged (as suggested by `India Food Report 2008`, released at the Food Forum India, in Mumbai), there is huge scope for export-led growth in the sector.

Recognising this, the country aims at, in the next few years, raising the share of processed food to 20 per cent in comparison to total agri-produce, on the one hand, and enhancing export of these items to three per cent on the other.

The domestic food market, according to the `India Food Report 2008` is estimated at over US$
182 billion accounting for about 2/3rd of the total Indian retail market.