Uttar Pradesh approves food processing projects worth over ₹200 crore

The approved private projects encompass farm segments including vegetables, horticulture, dairy, and poultry

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has cleared 14 food processing projects, worth over ₹200 crore, to link the agricultural sector directly with the market. The approved private projects span farm segments, including vegetables, horticulture, dairy and poultry.

 

The state government will develop these projects in major industrial and commercial hubs, such as Varanasi, Meerut, Kanpur, Lucknow, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bareilly, Ayodhya and Rampur.

 

UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said food processing holds immense potential to augment farm income and generate large-scale employment opportunities. He directed officials to create awareness about subsidies provided under the Uttar Pradesh Food Processing Industry Policy 2023 so that more enterprises could be established.

 

Meanwhile, consumer foods company Apis India Limited is looking to set up a greenfield food processing unit in Western Uttar Pradesh. Its managing director, Amit Anand, said the company, which procures almost 4,000 tonnes of honey from the state, was aiming to double its procurement within the next three years. He added that UP's industrial policy was among the most progressive in India.

 

The government is promoting food processing so that farmers receive better prices with an enriched agricultural value chain. The state has received proposals for production of namkeens and sweets, culinary herbs, milk powder, desi ghee, paneer, whey powder, ready-to-cook products (pre-mix dalia and khichdi), poultry feed, and other products, besides processing of frozen vegetable and spices.

 

The approved processing units will procure raw materials from local farmers and livestock producers. Investors must submit a list of 100 farmers or dairy producers whose raw materials can be purchased to qualify for incentives.

 

The Yogi Adityanath government envisions 75,000 new food processing units in the state, compared with the present 65,000 across 75 districts.

 

With rising global demand, countries like the US, Bangladesh, the UAE and Vietnam are increasingly importing Indian processed food items. UP’s agri economy has jumped threefold in the last eight years. From ₹2 trillion in 2016-17, UP’s agricultural sector Gross State Value Added jumped to ₹7 trillion in 2024-25. The state government aims to propel agriculture and allied activities to contribute $1 trillion to gross state domestic product by 2047.