What do present trends portend for Indias food industries?
During the first 70 years of the 20th century, across Asia and Africa the relative proportions of rural and urban populations remained almost constant. Until the mid-1960s roughly 80% of African and Asian people lived in rural communities, many surviving as subsistence farmers. The past 25 years have witnessed significant shifts in population dynamics and distribution. Urban populations in Africa are growing at 4.5%/year; throughout Asia at 3.5%/year. According to the United Nations Population Division, over the next 25 years, India’s urban populations will grow to 2.5 times their present size; from 255 to ca 650 million. As cities expand, traffic becomes more congested, and longer times are required to transport crops from rural producers to urban markets and processors. Dr Prakash’ colleagues inform me that present post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables amount to between 25 and 30% of all that is harvested. This means that for every 10% rise in the urban population, Indian frui
