Project Reports

Tomato in India occupies second position amongst the vegetable crops in terms of production. Another encouraging trend has been that India's production level of processed tomato has risen by 50 per cent. The main objective of processing is to supply wholesome, safe, nutritious and acceptable food to consumers throughout the year. Tomatoes and tomato-based foods are considered healthy for the reason that they are low in calories, but possess a remarkable combination of antioxidant micronutrients.

A number of tomato products e.g. ketchup, juice, puree, paste, sauce, pickles are available in the market. These are items of common use in households, hotels, restaurants, institutions. Tomato puree is used as a substitute to fresh tomato during cooking. Ketchup is a sweet spicy food. Tomato juice is nutritious and appealing juice in taste. Tomato sauce tastes sweet and sour. Both sauce and ketchup are consumed with food and snacks. Tomato is a valuable raw material used for processed products such as juice, puree, and paste, ketchup/sauce, and canned whole. The recent scientific advances have revolutionized tomato processing industries.

India ranks first in the world in production of fruits and second in vegetables, accounting roughly 10 and 15 per cent, respectively, of total global production. India have a strong and dynamic food processing sector playing a vital role in diversifying the agricultural sector, improving value addition opportunities and creating surplus food for agro-food products. Presently, a mere 2.2 per cent of fruits and vegetables are processed, even as the country ranks second in the world in terms of production. This is comparatively low when compared to other countries like Brazil (30 per cent), USA (70 per cent) and Malaysia (82 per cent).The National policy aims to increase the percentage of food being processed in the country to 10 per cent by 2010 and 25 per cent by 2025. Food processing adds value, enhances shelf life of the perishable agro-food products and encourages crop diversification. The market size of the food processing industry is likely to increase from Rs 4600 billion in 2003-04 to Rs 8200 billion in 2009-10, and to Rs 13,500 billion in 2014-15.In the coming years India’s share in the global processed food industry will get a raise from one per cent to three per cent.

However, over the last few years, there has been a positive growth in fruit and vegetable processed products such as ready-to-serve beverages, fruit juices and pulps, dehydrated and frozen fruits and vegetable products, tomato products, pickle, convenience veg-spice pastes, processed mushrooms and curried vegetables. As per the data maintained by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the installed capacity of fruits and vegetables processing units (FPO licensed units) has increased from 26.38 lakh tones as on 01.01.08 to 30.89 lakhs tones as on 01.01.09.

Due to increasing standards of living in the cities and the rapid urbanization taking place in the rural areas, consumption of tomato based products is expected to go up steadily. At present, the market of ketchup/puree, especially in the urban areas, is dominated by brands likes MAGGI and KISSAN. Some Medium and Small Companies are also engaged in its production. The Indian Food processing industry will continue to prosper, thanks to the rising income levels and modernized food retail stores. The food processing sector is likely to be the driving seat for the Indian economy.