The Prime Minister today regretted that the food processing sector is subject to multiple levies and called for an urgent rationalization of tax structure. Addressing a conference of food processing ministers of States in the capital, Dr Man Mohan Singh said, government will soon formulate a National Food Processing Policy to spell out the vision for its rapid growth. He said, though primary agricultural commodities are mostly exempted from taxes, processed foods are subjected to multiple levies. Dr Singh said, despite being a major food producer, India's share in the global processed food trade is less than two per cent. He said, at present, many states are levying additional cess even when the empowered panel of Finance Ministers of states on Value-Added Tax has suggested a four per cent VAT on processed fruits and vegetables. He said, this is hampering the flow of investment into the sector. The Prime Minister noted that despite economic slowdown, the sector grew at an impressive rate of 14.7 per cent in 2008-09 from seven per cent in 2005-06. Though Dr Singh listed out a slew of supportive policies by the UPA in boosting growth of what he called a sunrise sector, he said, he recognized constraints of infrastructure among others, and pitched for higher investment from public and private sectors. Dr Singh pointed out that the country lags global peers pathetically in the processing of food items, which stands at 6 per cent against 80 per cent in some developed nations. He said, if the stake holders will get their act together, India can emerge as a leader in the global food processing industry like in the field of IT.