Thanjavur: Wastage of food products due
to inadequate storage facilities accounted for over one third
of production in the country causing an annual loss of about
Rs 50,000 crore, a senior official in the Union Food
Processing Industries Ministry said on Wednesday.
Wastage of food products had been estimated at 35 per
cent of the total food production whereas in countries like
China and Bangladesh it was lesser and the time had come to
address the issue, Joint Secretary Ajit Kumar told reporters
at the Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology (IICPT)
here.
The country had been incurring a loss of more than Rs
50,000 crore annually due to wastage and inadequate facilities
for storage of food products, he said.
Kumar said a two-day national conference on Career and
Research Trends in Food Processing would be organised at the
IICPT from tomorrow. A work-shop on avoiding wastages and
marketing of sub-food products manufactured by the IICPT would
also be conducted.
The conference would be attended by various food research
scholars, farmers and self-help groups, he said.
He said IICPT had been planning to start its out reach
programmes in 400 villages utilising its students undergoing
skill development and training in food processing.
The IICPT had included value-addition courses in its
curriculum. Through its `village adoption programme` the
students of the institute create awareness about requirements
to improve food production and processing.
PTI
