Growth in food processing better than other industries, economy: MoFPI

The food processing sector has witnessed fast growth, employment generation and export earnings in the recent past. In major indicators, the growth in this sector has been better than other industries and the economy as a whole.

On its part, the ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI) has contributed to encouraging investment in the sector, improving infrastructure, evolving better standards, removing bottlenecks and initiating R&D and skill development.

The National Mission on Food Processing (NMFP) was approved in June this year followed by quick formulation of guidelines to states. The ministry has taken a number of steps for encouraging investment into the food processing sector; these include issuing Expression of Interest (EoI) for setting up 15 cold chain projects, information dissemination on resources and facilities available in different states, creating an investor portal, and modification of guidelines for setting up cold chains. On the ministry’s initiative, concessional duty on food processing machinery is under consideration of the government. The ministry has also been coordinating with other ministries and organisations for showcasing India’s potential in this sector, improving hygienic standards of abattoirs, food safety, assessment of agricultural wastage and so on.

Details of the growth of the food processing sector and the major actions taken by the ministry in the current year are given below: 
•    MoFPI is concerned with formulation and implementation of the policies and plans for the food processing industries within overall national priorities and objectives. In an emerging country like India, where growth with equity is a primary policy thrust, the optimum development of the food processing sector will contribute significantly in tackling several developmental concerns such as disguised unemployment in agriculture, rural poverty, food security, food inflation, improved nutrition, and prevention of wastage of food.  
 
•    The approach to 12th Five Year Plan for MoFPI was prepared keeping in view the overall national objectives. It was felt that significant development in the food processing sector can be achieved only through a decentralised approach paving the way for greater involvement of states. The total plan allocation for the 12th Plan for the ministry is Rs 5,990 crore. 
 
•    The food processing sector is an important segment of the economy, constituting a share of around 9.0 to 10.0 per cent of GDP in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors.  
 
•    The FP sector provides employment to around 65 lakh. According to the latest Annual Survey of Industries for 2010-11, the total number of persons employed in the organised food processing sector was about 16.62 lakh. In the unorganised sector, FP sector supported employment to 47.93 lakh persons as per NSSO 67th Round. 
 
•    In terms of labour productivity, at 2004-05 prices, output per worker in registered units increased from Rs 16.12 lakh to Rs 24.67 lakh (CAGR of 8.9%). 
 
•    The overall exports from India increased by 40.5% in 2010-11 and by 21.8% during 2011-12, and declined by 1.8% in 3012-13, in US$ terms. The food processing sector registered a growth of 38.1% during 2010-11 and 55.5% during 2011-12. Export of food products during 2012-13 registered a growth of 14.0% in dollars terms.
 
•    In terms of value addition, during the last five years ending 2011-12, the food processing sector has been growing at an Average Annual Growth Rate (AAGR) of around 8.6 % as compared to little less than 4 % in agriculture and 8 % in  manufacturing. 
 
•    Government has approved setting up 12 more mega food parks in addition to 30 on-going projects and 75 new cold chain projects in addition to 74 already approved, during the 12th Plan period under the Infrastructure Development Scheme of the ministry. In pursuance to this, the ministry had accorded in-principle approval to 10 mega food park projects and 68 cold chain projects. EoI for 15 more cold chain projects have been issued on Dec 2, 2013. The Cold Chain Scheme guidelines have been revised for better implementation of the scheme.  
 
•    Based on the learning experience and keeping in view the problems faced in implementation of Mega Food Parks Scheme, the ministry has moved a proposal modification of existing guidelines to facilitate speedier and effective implementation of the projects. 
 
•    The government on June 27, 2013, approved the National Mission on Food Processing (NMFP) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the remaining period of 12th Plan with additional components of primary processing centres / collection centres in rural areas, reefer van / refrigerated trucks, modernisation of meat shop and old food parks. The guidelines for the remaining period of 12th Plan 2013-14 to 2016-17 have been issued on July 23, 2013, for implementation of the mission by State / UT governments.  
 
•    The government has approved the ministry’s proposal for meeting the 11th Plan committed liabilities under Central Sector Scheme of Technology Upgradation during the 12th Plan (2012-17) for an amount of Rs 740 crore numbering 3,168 cases.  
 
•    The ministry jointly organised a workshop on August 29, 2013, with ICAR to share the protocols of repeat study on post-harvest losses (sponsored by MoFPI) being done by Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering & Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana, with the selected ICAR institutions dealing with perishables (fruit & vegetables) at New Delhi. The last study was done by ICAR on post-harvest losses in the year 2005-09 and the report was released in 2010. In all, 46 crops were studied and losses were assessed in the range of 6% to 18%. 
 
•    On the basis of a review on the study on “Assessment of Post-Harvest losses of Major Crops and Commodities in India” conducted by Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering & Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana, ICAR was requested to associate the ICAR institutions (related to top 5 fruits/vegetable crops) and state governments with the CIPHET study to make it more meaningful. 
 
•    The ministry participated jointly with APEDA in Aahar International Food and Hospitality Fair, 2013, organised by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) from March 14 to 18, 2013, at New Delhi.
 
•    In a conference of the principal secretaries / secretaries (UD) of states / UTs held in New Delhi on July 10, 2013, in department of urban development it was apprised by secretary (FPI) about the unhygienic conditions under which domestic meat industry is functioning with little regard for pollution norms. The participants were also apprised of the scheme of this ministry for grant-in-aid assistance upto Rs 15 crore for setting up of new abattoirs and modernisation of existing abattoirs. As a sequel to the above meeting, a model project report for small abattoirs was prepared and has been uploaded on the ministry’s website and has also been shared with state governments / UTs. 
 
•    A stakeholder’s consultation was organised on July 31, 2013, to invite suggestions for change in the guidelines for funding of cold chain and cold storage projects under the Viability Gap Funding Scheme of ministry of finance.  In accordance with the suggestions received from the stakeholders, the guidelines of the Cold Chain Scheme has been revised and notified on November 20, 2013.
 
•    The 3rd meeting of Executive Committee of National Food Processing Development Council (NFPDC) was convened on August 13, 2013. The progress of NMFP in different states and other issues pertaining to sustainable growth of food processing sector in the country was reviewed in the ministry.
 
•    On August 21, 2013, and August 22, 2013, the progress of NMFP with selected states was reviewed through video conferencing for northeastern states and selected UTs. Secretary (FPI) discussed the matter with various chief secretaries of state governments and requested them to furnish utilisation certificates so that budgetary allocation of 2013-14 can be released. The minister for food processing has also addressed letters to chief ministers on August 26, 2013, in this regard.
 
•    The ministry has launched its new website which is more investor-friendly and also disabled-friendly for visually impaired users.
 
•    A meeting was held on August 6, 2013, with chairman and CEO of FSSAI to discuss various issues raised by the industry in regard to implementation of the Food Safety Regulations relating to documents and conditions for grant of licences and issues relating to product approval. The clarifications received from FSSAI have been circulated to industry associations. A mayors’ conference was held at New Delhi on September 13-14, 2013.). The conference was inaugurated by Dr Charan Das Mahant, minister of state for agriculture & food processing industry. Around 100 delegates including mayors, chairmen/president of municipal councils, municipal commissioners, veterinary officers and experts participated in the conference.
 
•    On receipt of representations from the industry about the difficulties faced by them in implementing some of the provisions of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Regulations a meeting was organised in which representatives of industry chambers and food processing industries participated along with officers from Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Based on the deliberations, a reference to review the system of product approval was made to FSSAI and the ministry of health & family welfare.
 
•    In order to attract investment in the food processing sector, the ministry prepared state profiles, which contain information about production and productivity of crops and availability of infrastructure in various states for investment in the food processing sector. The state profiles have been circulated to state governments / UT administrators for ready reference. An investor’s portal has also been launched to facilitate investment in the food processing sector.
 
•    With a view to reducing losses in food chain and ensuring remunerative return to farmers for their produce, MoFPI had taken up the issue of excise duty concession on processed food and food processing machinery with the prime minister on May 31, 2013. In response to this, finance minister on July 17, 2013, had conveyed that while it will not be possible to provide full excise duty concession on these items, particularly on food products, concession in respect of food processing equipment could be examined on merit. Accordingly, the matter has been taken up with department of revenue for concessional duty on food processing machinery.
 
•    The ministry has been organising special camps with banks for the cases pending of 11th Plan under the Scheme of Technology Upgradation/ Establishment/ Modernisation of Food Processing Industries. This exercise was done for facilitating entrepreneurs and also expediting release of committed liabilities pending on account of these cases.
 
•    The Committee on Agriculture (2013-14) made a visit to National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), Sonepat, Haryana, for an on-the-spot study. The committee appreciated the infrastructure created by the Institute for B.Tech; M. Tech and PhD courses and various other initiatives such as Village Adoption Programme, and Skill Development Programme.
 
•    A delegation led by the MoFPI visited Nigeria, Gambia / Senegal from February 20 to 27, 2013, to hold discussions with the Indian Missions with the host country authorities in connection with setting up of bilateral Food Testing labs (FTS.) in Nigeria and Gambia under Indian Africa Forum Summit (IAFC)-II.
 
•    The ministry participated jointly with APEDA in Pro Food / Pro Pack & Agbiz - 2013, held at Colombo, Sri Lanka, from August 23 to 25, 2013; Saudi Agro Food - 2013, held at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from September 15 to 18, 2013, and in the international event, FHC China-2013 at Shanghai, China, from November 13 to 15, 2013. 

-FnBNews

New year wishes from India's Leading Refrigerated Truck Manufacturers

It is time to upgrade Dairy Transportation to Refrigerated Trucks and not Insulated ones.

The Truth About Indian Cold Chain - Where are we now?

Ensuring temperature control upto the last delivery.. Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration

The best Refrigerated Trucks are the ones with Cold Plate Refrigeration system

As a 60 year old technology empowering thousands of refrigerated trucks across the globe, Cold-plate refrigeration system remains one of the most PROVEN and RELIABLE means of refrigeration for transport applications. What is primarily different from the blower type, engine-drive or diesel engine driven refrigeration system is that no compressor is required to operate during distribution.

Traditional refrigeration systems draw power from a running engine to generate and maintain temperatures. But Cold Plate refrigeration system is electrically-driven, making it a cost-effective, and more environmentally-friendly, alternative to expensive diesel-driven systems.

How do Cold Plates work?

Cold plate refrigeration works in a similar manner to the blue gel packs we keep in a freezer. These packs freeze overnight and can serve as a portable freezer for your trip the next day. Cold plates aren’t much different. When the truck is off the road, the owner plugs the refrigeration unit into locally available power, allowing refrigeration to pass through the plates. This refreezes the solution inside the plates over an 8 to 10 hour period. When this time is over, you’re free to take the truck back on the road. Thereafter, the system requires absolutely no power whilst in operation (and so makes no noise), and the frozen solution provides refrigeration power as it very slowly changes state. The temperature will be set for the day’s run and be maintained for around 10 to 12hours depending on the door openings. Nonetheless, Cold-plate technology is one of the most sophisticated refrigeration technologies with utmost user-friendliness.

Advantages of Cold Plate Refrigeration

There are numerous advantages to cold plate refrigeration. Firstly, you don’t have to worry about your refrigeration breaking down halfway down your transportation. This can be an expensive waste of time under the best of circumstances. Under the worst of circumstances, it could result in your perishable shipment being ruined. Low operating costs, elimination of maintenance, and a long lifespan are also among the benefits. Other advantages include longer Vehicle engine life, quiet operation, and reliability.

Are there any disadvantages?

While cold plate refrigeration offers a number of advantages over blower type systems, there are some weaknesses. One of the most distinct of these is a short radius. You’ll have to return to your plug-in point at night, which means hauling on a national scale is not going to be practical. The required down time can also be a disadvantage, as it is going to take your truck out of commission for at least 8 hours a night.

Then how can this Cold Plate Reefer be of BEST use? This technology is best suited for Short-haulage and multi-point city distribution.

WHY CHOOSE COLD PLATE OVER CONVENTIONAL REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS?

COLD PLATE PERFORMS EFFICIENTLY

Cold Plate uses an electrically-driven, easy-to-access front mounted compressor to cool the system. No moving parts translate to low maintenance requirements.

COLD PLATE PERFORMS COST-EFFECTIVELY

Cold Plate System is electrically driven and operates at a fraction of the cost of conventional engine-driven systems that require a running engine, and consume costly diesel fuel just to maintain required temperatures.

COLD PLATE PERFORMS DEPENDABLY

Even under disastrous conditions, such as total electrical system failure, Cold Plate holds enough reserve to maintain even the coldest temperatures for as long as 24 hours in an unopened compartment.

COLD PLATE PERFORMS ENVIRONMENTALY

Electrical operation means Cold Plate results in lower CO2 emissions, fewer particulate pollutants and less noise pollution than engine-driven systems.

COLD PLATE PERFORMS STABLY.

Energy reserve in Cold Plates helps maintain a more consistent cargo temperature during frequent door openings unlike the high fluctuation temperature of blower system.

In other words Cold Plate systems WORK! In the most effective and efficient manner enabling huge cost savings translating to more profits and better customer satisfaction through best temperature control.

-

Transfreez, Mobile Refrigeration

www.reftruck.com
sales@reftruck.com

An Effective REFRIGERATED TRUCK solution for the Indian Ice Cream & Frozen Food Distribution

Refrigerated Truck market in India is much spoken about in the recent times. With the Indian cold chain market valued at Rs. 15,000 Crores, at 20 to 25% growth rate, the number of Reefers estimated in India is only about 30,000 units.

Many a times, we get to read that India stands number 2 in the global milk production, no. 5 in egg output, no.6 in fish output etc. However, India is not able to convert all these abundant resources into considerable national revenue? The reason is very obvious. Due to the inadequate Cold Chain Infrastructure it is estimated that about 30 to 40% of the output is expelled as wastage. In other words, products worth Rs. 35,000 cores are significantly wasted due to lack of proper Cold Storage handling and refrigerated logistics.

Did you know that India is the 2nd largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world (150 Million Tons) with cold storage facility available only for 10% of the produce?

Perhaps the wastage percentage appears to be less owing to the fact that most of the fresh produce is consumed within a 200kms radius from source of production. Thanks to our overwhelming population!

Factors such as Insufficient Cold Storage capacity, lack of cold storage proximity to farms, poor transport infrastructure amount to this considerable wastage. And what is the result of it all? Price instability, low farmer remuneration and rural impoverishment.

With a large domestic consumption capacity, rising export demand, large pool of labour, increasing demand for processed food, strong government support via subsidy, training and NH development, the Cold Chain Industry in India is still sustaining some growth. Well then, what is making this growth difficult?

Insufficient skilled labour, lack of refrigerated transportation and Storage facility, uneven distribution of cold chain, lack of uninterrupted power supply, single commodity cold storages and many more.

Talking about food processing, India stands at 2% processing levels in fruits & vegetables while USA remains at 65% and China 23%.  While Indian poultry processing is at 6%, the developed countries stand at 70%. Dairy, another significant industry has a food processing level of 35% while the developed countries are at 75%. Such low food processing levels that are significantly lower than global standards not only lead to low value addition but also increases wastage.

With the rising demand for processed food (temperature sensitive) for local consumption and exports the level of processing is set for a tremendous growth in the years to come. And the consequence of this is rise in demand for Cold Storages and Reefer vehicles.

Well, the so called “reefer market size" is still spoken about at 30,000 Reefers serving the ENTIRE Indian perishable commodities. It is clearly evident that there is a huge gap in the deployment of Refrigerated Vehicles in India. Let us take a look at the Ice cream distribution in India.

Firstly, awareness of the benefits of refrigerated transportation is very low in the Indian market. Secondly the Indian food quality is not governed by any stringent rules and food safety regulations. All that we see of Cold Chain logistics in India (apart from the refrigerated containers and heavy reefers), are perishables such as Ice creams are being transported in shipper boxes, small freezers, or sandwiched between ice cubes or dry ice etc.

Despite the extensive financial and economic growth that is articulated about India, cold chain distribution is still very immature using age old technique and methodologies. And the worst part of it is, the end user / consumer seldom realizes that the Ice cream that he is purchasing from a very fancy display freezer may not have sustained quality anymore due to its ineffective transportation. All that the Indian consumer assumes is that – the ice cream is of a reputed brand and hence believes that the manufacture must have taken complete efforts in protecting its quality from source of manufacture to retailer point.

How many of us are aware that there are more than 5000 Ice cream distributors in India and the dedicated reefer vehicles for Ice cream segment is estimated less than a thousand. So how are the rest of distributors transporting their ice cream and how good is the quality of Ice cream that we consume? Now this is a REAL question to think about. Bear in mind that this figure is excluding the local, small scale ice cream manufacturers of the large unorganized sector.

National and Multinational brands in India spend huge amount of money in order to bring variety in terms of flavours and taste and nutrition in Ice cream but it is really unfortunate that sometimes it is overlooked as to how their preciously developed product is distributed to its end user.

We often read that some of the big food brands importing Reefers from Europe or South Asia in an attempt to offer world class refrigerated distribution in India. While it is all very aspiring to notice such efforts, many a times we do not realize how effective these imported Reefers are when it comes to “the Indian conditions”. By conditions we mean Ambient and operating conditions.

Why is refrigerated distribution different in India? Here, we live with a very fragmented, unorganized retail system serving one of the world’s largest consumer markets. With less than 4 drop off points (with less than 20 sec door opening) for refrigerated secondary distribution  in the Developed parts of the World, here in India we observe a maximum of 20 drop-off points with upto 160seconds of door opening. More drop-off points meaning more door openings meaning more heat load to be handled by these Reefers.

While in developed countries’ retail distribution items are sorted before loading on to the reefer, in India it is often sorting of items in the Reefer at the retail drop-off point. This is mainly because of the unpredictable and unstable order quantity of Retailers apart from lack of process driven loading and unloading of truck loads for milk runs. It is critical to note that sorting at drop of points means more ambient temperature entry into the reefer thereby rising the container temperature directly affecting the product quality and shelf life.

With all this aside, let us not forget that the imported Reefers are designed as per the low ambient of the country of origin. Whereas in parts of India, the ambient shoots upto 50 deg C.

Thus the performance of these imported reefers would be crippled in Indian ambient and operating conditions. They are not designed to suit ‘the Indian way of distribution’. Hence, even with governments duty free import incentive on Reefers, the quality of refrigerated distribution is not getting any better.

Considering all this, it is evident that in order to be effective in India, Reefers need to be designed with better refrigeration capacity. Without this, the imported Reefers miserably fail in India.

Bharat Refrigerations (P) Ltd - a company with more than 24 years of advanced refrigeration research experience and pioneer-manufacturer of refrigeration equipment, has developed a world-class reefer truck technology - TRANSFREEZ - especially for last-mile, multi-point frozen food distribution. Transfreez, offers Cold Plate Refrigerated Trucks at unmatched cost to Ice cream and frozen food distributors. The technology behind TransFreez is born out of more than 900 hours of intensive research and field tests specifically revolving around the Indian Ice cream / frozen food distribution. Transfreez reefers operate at 60% lesser cost than traditional blower type reefers. As a result of good research and intensive real world testing in India these trucks are specifically designed to suit Indian operational and ambient conditions, bearing in mind that the most important mission of Reefers is to protect the products while sustaining its quality and shelf life.

In addition to cutting down operation and life-time cost by 60%, Transfreez, also offers a dual-purpose detachable Reefer- more popularly known among our customers as “Coldroom Reefer”. Specifically designed for dual purpose, Storage + Transport, these detachable reefers can be turned into COLDROOMS whenever needed.

Example: For seasonal business such as Ice cream, distributors often think twice to invest in a reefer fleet and worry about its under-utilization during off season and its cost there forth. In such a scenario, this independently chargeable Refrigerated Container can be easily removed from the vehicle and can be used as a Mini-Cold Room during off season, thereby saving the distributor of vehicle idling cost. The LCV can then be used as any other pick-up truck for other purpose, or even better, if the distributor can lease/hire the vehicle during peak ice cream season, he can save significant cost on vehicle, maintenance and driver during off season.

This patent-protected and proven technology has gained a lot of popularity amongst many Ice cream and frozen food distributors in the recent times. This fuel-free Cold Plate technology enables complete product protection while distribution compared to blower system reefers which thrive on the continuous operation of the Vehicle engine to sustain cooling.

How to operate Transfreez Reefers?

Well, all you have to do is plug it to charge at your locally available electric point from 8 to 10 hours and enjoy fuel-free refrigerated distribution during the day with assured temperature maintenance.

Now there is a great reason for Ice cream & frozen food distributors to stop worrying about the safety and quality of products during distribution and enjoy considerable cost savings and business growth.

Divya Amrith, VP – Marketing & Strategy, Transfreez, Mobile Refrigeration, Email:sales@reftruck.com

www.reftruck.com

Beverages & Food Processing Times-Mar-I-2013