Business deals worth ₹500 cr expected at India Food Expo 2026 in Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh aims to cement its status as a food processing hub, with ₹500 crore business deals expected at the three-day India Food Expo 2026 in Lucknow

Business deals worth ₹500 crore are expected to be signed at the three-day India Food Expo 2026 starting Friday in Lucknow, said the organisers, as Uttar Pradesh (UP) seeks to be the “investment destination” for farm and food industries.

 

The event organised by the Indian Industries Association (IIA) in partnership with Invest UP agency and the state’s Department of Horticulture & Food Processing will showcase the food processing, packaging, cold chain, and allied industries.

 

Expo Chairman Chetan Bhalla said the event will bolster the Uttar Pradesh government’s vision of setting up 75,000 new food processing units across the state.

 

According to IIA, the expo will help investments and business-to-business deals in the state. Deals worth ₹500 crore are expected to be signed during the event.

 

“UP is among the leading agricultural and horticultural-producing states, and it has one of the most progressive food policies. The Expo will showcase UP as a prominent investment destination in the farm and food processing sectors," Bhalla said.

 

UP’s agriculture economy has jumped three-fold in the past eight years, according to the state government. The agricultural sector clocked ₹7 trillion in Gross State Value Added in FY25, marking a 3.5-fold increase from ₹2 trillion in FY17.

 

The government wants agriculture and allied activities to contribute $1 trillion to the state’s Gross State Domestic Product by 2047.

 

Rahul Kumar, deputy chief executive officer of SLMG Beverages, which is among the top Coca-Cola bottlers in North India, said the single window facilitation of the government’s Invest UP agency has played a key role in the increasing investment basket in Uttar Pradesh.

 

UP is developing food processing facilities and cold storage units in Agra and Farrukhabad districts. The state has developed 15 agro parks in Bareilly, Barabanki, Varanasi, Gorakhpur etc.

 

The UP Food Processing Industry Policy 2023, which supports projects ranging from ₹1 crore to ₹50 crore, offers production-based subsidies, interest subvention, and exemptions on land and stamp duty.

 

The UP government has cleared nearly 400 food processing proposals of over ₹10,000 crore.