25 to 50% of fruits and vegetables and 10 to 30 % of grains worth Rs 60,000 crore per year are lost in India: Expert from CFTRI

Hyderabad, June 6, 2024…. FTCCI organised a Workshop on "Opportunities in Food Processing" on Thursday in the city at its premises in Red Hills.

It was inaugurated by Meela Jayadev, President of FTCCI and
Dr. S.V.N. Vijayendra, Head & Sr. Principal Scientist, CFTRI.

Mrs. K. Sathiyamala, Sr. Principal Scientist, CFTRI; Dr. R. Sridhar, Senior Technical Officer, CFTRI
Mr. A Nagender, Principal Technical Officer, CFTRI; Mr. K. Srinivasulu, Senior Technical Officer, CFTRI; Sri Chandra Mohan, Chair, Agro and Food Processing Committee
Co-Chairs of the Agro and Food Processing Committee participated and spoke in the workshop

Today's workshop is designed to create awareness of CFTRI services in food technology and preservation and encourage prospective entrepreneurs to take the first step said Dr. S.V.N. Vijayendra, Head & Sr. Principal Scientist, CFTRI.

The food processing sector plays a vital role in our economy by creating value addition to agricultural products.  agriculture and industry are interdependent and value addition to agri products is key to economic growth said Meela Jayadev, president of FTCCI

With India's transition from a food-scarce to a food-surplus nation, the opportunities within this sector have expanded significantly. However, it is estimated that 40 per cent of agri produce is getting wasted because of a lack of even primary processing facilities with the farmers.  CFTRI is doing commendable work in developing technologies for processing at affordable cost.

Several leading experts from CSIR-CFTRI shared their knowledge and experiences.

Chandra Mohan, the Committee chair of the Food Processing Committee of FTCCI said 

The CFTRI is pioneering food technologies in the country through its research activities. They support the prospective entrepreneurs to begin food processing units from a very small scale to large scale production.

In the food processing industry, the preservation and shelf life of the products are key to success.

This  workshop is aimed  at creating awareness of the services and support given by the CFTRI and the workshop helps you in understanding the nuances of food processing and preservation.


Mrs. K. Sathiyamala, Sr. Principal Scientist, CFTRI gave an extensive presentation. In India, the annual consumption of value-added food alone is greater than Rs 2.25,000 crore per year. Ironically India loses 25 to 50% of the fruits and vegetables, 10 to 30% of the grains and oil seeds in the post-harvest chain. These losses translate to a whopping monetary loss worth Rs 60,000 crore per year.

She spoke about several innovative technologies, food products that are most uncommon to the market such as super cane powder, bottled sugarcane juice that has an increased shelf life of 4 months, Chicken, Mutton, Fish wafers,  egg cubes just as paneer cubes, millet noodles and vermicelli, millet papad, Raagi Ball, Dosa, Idli, Chapathi making machines, heat and eat food and many others.

About 150 people participated in the workshop