Very little to chew on

The food-processing sector feels the Budget has ignored its potential, which might curb agriculture growth of 5 per cent a year. The industry was expecting fiscal intervention by the government, including the introduction of a low and uniform excise duty on all sub-segments of the sector, significant neutralisation of the high incidence of packaging costs.

The government has reduced customs duty on food processing machinery from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent, but sector players were expecting similar measures on R&D, subvention of 3 per cent of the bank interest and removal of the Rs 5 crore cap on investment for classification under priority sector lending. Says P.K. Jain, chairman, The Malt Company: “Every year, fruits and vegetable worth Rs 50,000 crore goes waste.” Adds Piruz Khambatta, chairman and managing director, Rasna: “The government has not recognised the multiplier affect of the food processing industry on agriculture. If rural India is to benefit, a boost in this sector is a must.”