 The food industry can make a variety of

different products from a given commodity.

These food products have different expiration
dates and different economic value as a result
of food processing.
 Physical (heat), Chemical (preservatives) and
Biological (fermentations) are used to
preserve food.
 The food industry adds value to commodities,
creates a varied year-round food supply and
does so at very low consumer cost.
 Backward linkages:
 Agriculture sector
 Fertilizers
 Butchers
 Farmers
 Forward linkages:
 Hotel & Restaurants
 Auto Industry (Transportation)
 Small Units (House Hold Units)
 Plastic Industry
 IN jan,1997  by iqbal haidari.
 According to the Census of Manufacturing
Industries there were more than1000 SMEs units
engaged in the manufacture of Food and
Beverages. According to the UNIDO it is the
largest manufacturing industry of the country.
Value of production stood at Rs.74.094 billion
and manufacturing value added (MVA) stood at
Rs.24.287 billion. Food processing is a relatively
capital intensive industry. The share of food in
the manufacturing industry has declined from
22.66 per cent in 1981-82 to 19.76 per cent in
1990-91. Figures for 1995-96 are not available.
 The growth rate in the food industry has been
estimated at 10.00 per cent per annum. The
most rapidly growing items are dairy products
fish processed, bakery items, sugar, biscuits and
confectioneries, fruit juices and other soft
beverages. Rapid export growth has
characterized fish preparation, fruit preserves,
dry fruits, some beverages and sugar, and honey
preparation. Food products (except rice) do not
however, make up a significant proportion of
Pakistani exports and there is a considerable
potential for expanding such exports, specially to
Europe and the Gulf region.
 As many as 86 food manufacturing companies are on the
list of Karachi Stock Exchange out of total 783 companies
(end January 1997). The paid-up capital of food companies
stood at Rs.7.519 billion as end December 1996. They
include, some of the biggest groups in the market such as
Bawany, Crescent, Habib, Fecto, Premier, Lakson, Burma
Oil (producing vegetable oils) Brooke Bond, Clover Foods,
Lever Brothers and National Foods. The food
manufacturing firms have generally performed well on the
stock exchange in 1994-95 with capitalisation registering
an above average increase. Net profit as percentage of
share holder's equity has averaged at about 22 per cent
during 1990-93 for the sugar and allied group, and about
25 per cent for the vegetable oil groups. The net profit
ratio for the tobacco subsector has been 30 per cent. This
compares well with the overall net profit ratio for KSE
companies during this period, and averages to about 19
per cent.
 
No. of Paid-up Market
Companies Capital Value
 
 Sugar and Allied 38 466.594 4430.194
 Tobacco 7 541.011 1823.451
 Edible Oil 19 395.702 257.125
 Food & Allied 22 1921.244 14,391.079
 
 According to an eminent agriculture expert, Pakistan
through intensive cultivation can increase its cereal
grain production more than three times the amount
currently produced in the country
 The present cereal production is around 26.3 million
tones.
 A production target of 54 million tons of cereal
production would be sufficient to meet Pakistan's
entire food needs and also to enable it to be the
major exporter of grains to South Asia and the Middle
East.
 Thus Pakistan has immense potential to turn into the
food granary for the countries of Asia and Africa in
view of its vast potential of water resources and its
biggest canal system in the world.
 Pakistan's soil and climate are conducive to
year round crop production.
 Major sources of dietary proteins are cereals,

pulses, fruits, vegetables and animals. In the

case of rice Pakistan already exports more
than a million tonnes of rice to Middle
Eastern and South Asia countries.
 Against the requirement of 20 million tonnes

the production of wheat would be less than

18 million tonnes this year.