In response to India's growing need for protein, a Pea Protein Center of Excellence is being established at NIFTEM Kundli. Learn about Protein Isolate and its full potential for food processing.

Peas will meet the growing demand for protein in India

Food preferences in India are rapidly changing. Along with taste, both the need and the market for nutrition, especially protein, are growing. Given India's large vegetarian population, providing adequate protein is becoming a key issue for the food sector. To this end, the government is also working on developing protein extract and protein isolate from peas, according to Devesh Deval (IAS), Joint Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, who presented this information at Anuga Select India 2026 and Anuga Foodtech India 2026.

Protein Extract and Isolate will be made from peas

Devesh Dewal explained that meeting India's protein needs is crucial given India's large vegetarian population. To address this, a Pea Protein Center of Excellence is being established at NIFTEM Kundli in collaboration with Canada. The center's goal is to develop pea protein extracts and protein isolates. This means that protein derived from plants like peas will be isolated and processed into a form that can be used in the food sector.

India's food market is worth $600 billion.

According to Devesh Dewal, India's food market is worth approximately $550–600 billion. It is growing at a CAGR of 6–7% due to economic growth and urbanization. The government considers food processing strategically important because it creates greater value for farmers, attracts investment, and generates employment opportunities in the manufacturing sector.

Farmers will also benefit

According to Devesh Dewal, food processing is the second largest employment generator in the manufacturing sector and contributes approximately 8% to the manufacturing GVA. The government is focused on increasing the level of processing in all 16 broad sub-sectors of the food sector and increasing the benefits to farmers.

India's agricultural exports also increased

According to Dr. Tarun Bajaj, Senior Advisor to APEDA, India will export agricultural and processed food products worth $53 billion in 2025–26. The share of processed products in India's total agricultural exports has reached nearly 30%. The target is to double this figure over the next five years. Rice, meat, seafood, coffee, and tea are among India's major export products.

Food processing industry is expected to grow

According to Milind Dixit, MD of Koilanmesse, India's food processing sector is growing rapidly due to increasing domestic consumption, higher value addition, modern technology, and strong connections to global markets. The sector is projected to reach approximately $382 billion in fiscal year 2025 and is projected to reach approximately $689 billion by fiscal year 2034.