To cash in on the growing demand for ready-to-eat food in the country and abroad, more and more basmati-processing companies are venturing into the segment, reports Business Standard.

Amira Foods, a Delhi-based Rs 3.1 billion rice processing company, is planning to enter the ready-to-cook business in the second half of next year. Delhi-based Kohinoor Foods, which has also started exporting frozen foods and is getting into chilled foods by 2008, already has a head start in this market.

"Nuclear families are becoming the norm and most urban families now have working women who do not have enough time to cook. This would emerge as a major growth factor for the ready-to-eat food business," said Karan Chanana, Amira Food MD.

KRBL Ltd, a Rs 7.25 billion rice company and the market leader in basmati, is also exploring the possibilities of entering this business.

LT Overseas, a Rs 3.75 billion company and owners of the Dawat basmati brand, is all set to launch its ready-to-cook flavoured rice for the first time in the country.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) pegs the ready-to-eat food industry at Rs 1 billion, but says it is set to grow at 70-80% annually in the next few years.