Minister of State for M/o Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel has informed that The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation through the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) collects and publishes data for registered manufacturing sector. As per the latest Annual Survey of Industries (2018-19), Food Processing sectorhas contributed11.22% of total persons engaged in the registered manufacturing sector. The details of employment/persons engaged in food processing sector for last 3 years are as under;
| S.No. | Year | Persons engaged (in Nos.) |
| 1 | 2016-17 | 18,53,851 |
| 2 | 2017-18 | 19,33,464 |
| 3 | 2018-19 | 20,05,286 |
Source: Annual Survey of Industries 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is implementing a Central Sector scheme- PRADHAN MANTRI KISAN SAMPADA YOJANA (PMKSY) since 2016-17 for overall growth and development of food processing sector including creation of off-farm employment across the country. Major component schemes under PMKSY with employment potential include Mega Food Park, Agro-Processing Clusters, Integrated Cold Chain, Creation/Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities (CEFPPC) and Backward & Forward Linkages. Similarly, for upgrading/formalizing unorganized micro sectorunits, the PMFormalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM_FME) scheme is being implemented since June 2020.
100% foreign direct investment is permitted under the automatic route for food processing sector. As per ASI reports, fixed capital investment in the registered food processingsector for latest three years, is as under;
| S.No. | Year | Fixed Capital (in Rs. Crore) |
| 1 | 2016-17 | 226045.47 |
| 2 | 2017-18 | 245063.04 |
| 3 | 2018-19 | 259121.50 |
Source: Annual Survey of Industries 2016-17,2017-18, 2018-19
The details of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in food Processing sector for last three years is as under;
| S. No. | Year | FDI (in Rs. Crore) |
| 1 | 2018-19 | 4430.44 |
| 2 | 2019-20 | 6414.67 |
| 3 | 2020-21 | 2934.12 |
Source: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade