Growth and Productivity of the Food Processing Sector: An Assessment of the Organised Segment

By : H. K. Varshney, D. Indrakumar

Page No: 172-183

Abstract
The food processing industry is the vital link between the two core sectors of the economy viz., agriculture and industry. In an era of globalised and competitive economic conditions the agriculture sector needs to have forward linkages with the industrial sectors. The food processing industry ranks fifth in size in the country, representing 1.5 per cent of the total GDP and 9.3 per cent of manufacturing GDP in 2009-10. The industry employed 5.48 million people in 2009-10. This sector as a whole proved to be a job loosing sector, but an organised component of the sector exhibited an overall growth. Organised sector employed just one-third of the total employment in the sector but contributed two-thirds of the GVA by the sector. Labour productivity of the organised sector has nearly doubled during 1994-95 to 2009-10 and increased with an average rate of growth of 3.4 per cent per annum.

Authors :
H. K. Varshney : Deputy Director at the Institute of Applied Manpower Research.
D. Indrakumar : Deputy Director at the Institute of Applied Manpower Research, Delhi