India's food industry is poised to grow by a huge 42.5 per cent to USD 258 billion by 2015 from the present USD 181 billion, throwing up opportunities for investments across the entire value chain, says a study.

The study by FICCI-Ernst & Young said the per capita disposable income has increased by 8 per cent over the last five years. And "a large part of the increase in income will go towards expenditure on food."

"The current per capita expenditure on food is 1/6th that of China and 1/16th that of US with a significant opportunity for growth in the future," it said.

The study said the growth in food sector would help in re-organising the supply chain to enable reduction of post harvest losses, especially in fruits and vegetables which now amounts up to 25 per cent by value.

"This would mean an opportunity to set up warehouses, cold stores and logistics infrastructure," it said.

The sector would also create a base for exports of value added food products with current shipments of tertiary food products only at 9 per cent of overall food exports, it said, adding that launch of new products and increasing penetration of processed foods has a huge investment potential.