India growing population is estimated to stand at 1.18 Billion by July 2011 according to The World Fact book by the C.I.A (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html). The majority of the population is comprised of people within the age bracket of 15-64 years comprising of 64.9% of the population according to the same website.
A country with such a large population requires an equally huge food basket to feed the masses. Being the second most populous country to China, one would expect the manpower and labour to produce enough food to sustain the economy to be adequate. And it is. The agricultural sector takes up 16.1% of the country’s GDP according to 2010 GDP estimates by the CIA.
Consequently, India is regarded as the second largest producer of food next to China according to indianfoodindustry.net. This makes India a prime and strategic power in feeding the world based on the country’s ability to sustain itself and export the surplus to the world.
African countries have particularly been recipients of the overflow of India’s plates. This is not only in the food imports that most African countries will import from India, but also in the restaurants sector. Kenya boasts of at least ten fine dining Indian restaurants most of which are high-end restaurants.
Their popularity is constantly increasing given their unique cooking recipes and their general ‘healthiness’ as opposed to ‘junk’ food sold by South African outlets. My friend always insists on going to Indigo Spice in Wetlands since they love their food and the health advantages this food has over the rest.
My point in bringing out the restaurant and food industry in India with regard to Kenya is the endless possibilities that India’s food sector has with respect to other countries and continents. Having ten top-notch Indian restaurants in a foreign country simply points to the muscle that the country has and the potential of utilizing it.
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