Odisha to launch 5 food parks, target ₹10,000 cr investment at Delhi summit

The state will unveil five new food parks at the Odisha Food Pro 2026 summit in New Delhi as it seeks Rs 10,000 crore in investments and over 20,000 jobs

From millets to maize and packaged beverages to seafood, Odisha is looking to turn its abundant agricultural and marine resource base into a large-scale food-processing industry, with the state government aggressively pushing to attract global brands and emerge as eastern India's leading food-processing destination.

 

The state will launch five new food parks at the Odisha Food Pro 2026 investors' meet in New Delhi on Friday, marking the first such sector-specific investment summit outside the state. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi will lead the two-day investment outreach as the government targets investments of around Rs 10,000 crore, creating more than 20,000 job opportunities.

   

The five new food parks will together span 1,000 acres, with 200 acres earmarked for each park. The parks will come up at Bali (between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack), Barapali (near Brahmapur in Ganjam), besides Balasore, Bargarh and Kalahandi. These will add to the seven food parks already operational in Khordha, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Kalahandi and Rayagada.

 

Hemant Sharma, additional chief secretary, Industries Department, said the locations of the new food parks have already been identified and the land has been earmarked, allowing the government to move beyond broad investment pitches and offer companies ready locations for setting up manufacturing and processing facilities.

 

"Our focus is to attract a much wider pool of large domestic and global companies, particularly those looking for access to agricultural raw materials, ports, domestic markets and export opportunities. We are looking to bring in at least 20-25 large players and national brands through the Delhi summit," he said.

 

The state has a substantial production base in cereals, millets, fruits, vegetables, spices, cashew and marine products, besides access to a long coastline and an established seafood export ecosystem. Yet much of the economic value generated from these commodities is captured after they leave the state, as processing, packaging and branding are often undertaken elsewhere.

 

"The government now wants to reverse that pattern by bringing processing and value addition closer to the source of production. A lot of our products, including seafood, cashew, non-Basmati rice and millets, have huge export potential. In seafood and cashew, some good exports are certainly happening, but a lot more is possible," Sharma said.

 

Companies from the Middle East, West Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe and the US are also being targeted for investments in areas such as vegetarian and non-vegetarian protein extracts, egg powder and fish-based products such as surimi. The state expects these investments to create an export-oriented processing ecosystem.

 

The government has also turned its attention to Odisha's traditional foods and geographical indication (GI)-tagged products, many of which remain largely unknown outside the state despite having considerable commercial and cultural value. Ready-to-eat foodstuffs such as Rasagola, Chhena Poda, Chhena Jhilli, Chhena Mudki and Khaja can be marketed and packaged for wider commercial distribution.

 

The state has identified some regional products such as mudhi (puffed rice), cashew, jackfruit, millets, mangoes, sweet potato, turmeric, coffee, chilli, maize and cotton with potential for organised processing, packaging, branding and value addition. The government plans to improve farm-gate realisations and create new markets for producers by bringing processing facilities closer to farms.

 

"Much of these commodities are already traded commercially. But the problem is that a significant part of the value addition occurs outside Odisha. Every product has the potential to become a Rs 1,000-crore annual business. We are looking for companies that can transform Odisha's traditional products into recognised brands," Sharma added.

 

Odisha already has the presence of several established companies, including ITC Ltd, Nestlé, Parle, Britannia Industries, Indo Nissin Foods, Coca-Cola, Varun Beverages and Campa Cola. These are complemented by regional and local manufacturers such as Omfed, Ruchi, Bharat Masala, Grihasti and Homefills.