The project report includes Present Market Position and Expected Future Demand, Market Size, Statistics, Trends, SWOT Analysis and Forecasts. Report provides a comprehensive analysis from industry covering detailed reporting and evaluates the position of the industry by providing insights to the SWOT analysis of the industry.
Food drying / Dehydration of food is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which inhibits the growth of bacteria. Water is traditionally removed through evaporation (air drying, sun drying, smoking or wind drying), although today electric food dehydrators or freeze-drying can be used to speed the drying process and ensure more consistent results. Dehydrated fruits are a good and healthy option to snack on for people who lead a busy life and don’t get proper time for meals. It contains high nutrients and good calories that are required in one’s daily diet. This also increases the shelf life of the fruits and vegetables.
Dehydrated fruits & vegetables are majorly used in ready to eat foods, fruit bars, soup, energy drinks, beauty products, aromatherapy oils, bakeries, organic paints, etc. It can also be sold individually like raisins, dried figs (Anjeer), banana chips dried mangoes, dried oranges, dates, coconut, sun-dried tomatoes, dried potato chips, amchur powder, chili powder, food flavoring etc. It is also used as flavoring by many kinds of manufacturers.
Dehydrated fruits and vegetables are mostly used by space stations, hikers, campers, hotels, restaurants, organic food retail stores, herbal tea manufacturers. It is a life saver in areas that are affected by disasters like earthquakes, flood, etc. as most of dehydrated products do not require any cooking or refrigeration.
According to IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation), the Indian food and grocery market is the world’s sixth largest, with retail contributing 70 per cent of the sales. The Indian food processing industry accounts for 32 per cent of the country’s total food market, one of the largest industries in India and is ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, export and expected growth. It contributes around 8.80 and 8.39 per cent of Gross Value Added (GVA) in Manufacturing and Agriculture respectively, 13 per cent of India’s exports and six per cent of total industrial investment. The Indian gourmet food market is currently valued at US$ 1.3 billion and is growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent.
In India, Dehydration of fruits and vegetable has a bright prospects over other foods because India has diverse geographical and climatic conditions and produces a wide range of fruits and vegetables throughout the year. Here almost all type of fruits and vegetables are grown all over the country. These fruits and vegetables are valuable foods. They are a rich source of calcium, phosphorus, iron and vitamins.
Dehydrated fruits & vegetables include a no. of articles mainly, fruit juices, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, squashes, cordials, Beverages, jam, jellies, mermalades, chutney, sauces, pickles, vinegar, pectin etc.
Dehydration is at present defined industrially as drying by artificially produced heat under carefully controlled conditions of temperature, humidity, and air flow. The term `dried’ is applied to all dried products regardless of the method of drying.
Fruits and vegetables are dried to enhance storage stability, minimize packaging requirement and reduce transport weight. Preservation of fruits and vegetables through drying based on sun and solar drying techniques which cause poor quality and product contamination. Energy consumption and quality of dried products are critical parameters in the selection of drying process. An optimum drying system for the preparation of quality dehydrated products is cost effective as it shortens the drying time and cause minimum damage to the product. To reduce the energy utilization and operational cost new dimensions came up in drying techniques. Among the technologies osmotic dehydration, vacuum drying, freeze drying, superheated steam drying, heat pump drying and spray drying have great scope for the production of quality dried products and powders.
The keeping quality of a food material is greatly influenced by its water content. Fruits and vegetables containing high percentage of water deteriorate more rapidly than cereals, and root crops. Preservation of foods by sun drying is perhaps the oldest method known. Fruits like figs, amla, mango banana, coconut etc. and vegetables like tapioca, chillies, peas, turmeric and ginger are preserved by sun drying. The use of machinery for drying and the development of the dehydration industry are comparatively recent and like canning dehydration is assuming increasing importance as a process of good preservation.
