Change in eating habits
The eating habits of people in India are changing rapidly. Now people are paying attention not only on taste but also on the nutritional value of food and especially the amount of protein. The demand for plant-based proteins is increasing due to the large number of vegetarian people in the country. Keeping this in mind, the government is taking steps towards extracting protein from peas and producing protein isolate.
Establishment of Pea Protein Excellence Center
Devesh Deval, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, informed during Anuga Select India 2026 and Anuga FoodTech India 2026 that a special initiative is being taken for protein production from peas in India. Under this, a Center of Excellence for Pea Protein is being established in NIFTEM in collaboration with Canada.
development of food market
According to Devesh Deval, India's food market is worth about 550 to 600 billion dollars. Due to economic development and rapid urbanization, this market is growing at a CAGR of 6-7 percent. The government considers the food processing sector as strategically important, with emphasis on value addition to agricultural products, improving farmers' income, attracting investment and employment generation.
New opportunities for farmers
The food processing sector provides an opportunity to add additional value to agricultural products instead of selling them directly in the market. The government's focus is on increasing processing capacity in 16 sub-sectors of the food sector and passing its benefits to the farmers.
increase in exports
According to Dr. Tarun Bajaj, Senior Advisor, APEDA, India exported agricultural and processed food products worth about $ 53 billion in the financial year 2025-26. The share of processed products in total agricultural exports has reached approximately 30 percent.
future prospects
According to Milind Dixit, MD, CoelenMesse, India's food processing sector is continuously growing due to increase in domestic consumption, price rise, modern technology and better connectivity to global markets. This sector has reached approximately $382 billion in FY 2025, and it is estimated that its size may reach approximately $689 billion by FY 2034.