Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Food Processing Industries

13-December-2011 16:39 IST

To increase the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in food processing sector, Government has permitted 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in all the processed food items through automatic route.

Total inflow of FDI in Food Processing Sector during the last 3 years are as follows: -

Ministry of Food Processing Industries has not conducted any study to assess the impact of increased inflow of FDI in retail. However, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) not only complements and supplements domestic investment but also brings state-of-art technology and best managerial practices, thereby providing better access to foreign technology to the domestic industry. Thus enabling easy integration of our Food Processing Industries with the global market.

Ministry is providing financial assistance to various research institutions not only for improvement of quality and development of new products but also for innovative technologies in the Food Processing Sector for moving towards self sufficiency in respect of indigenous technology pertaining to food processing industries/sector.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Dr. Charan Das Mahant in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

MP: SB:CP: FDI (13.12.2011)

Full FDI in processed food items allowed through automatic route, enabling foreign investment and technology access. The Government permits 100% FDI in all processed food items through the automatic route, allowing wholly foreign-owned investment without prior approval. The Ministry notes past FDI inflows, states it has not studied FDI's retail impact, and characterises FDI as complementing domestic investment by supplying technology and managerial practices; it also funds research institutions for quality improvement and development of food-processing technologies.