UP Targets Massive Expansion with 75,000 Food Processing Units

The Uttar Pradesh government declared a significant growth in the food-processing industry. It will establish 75,000 new outlets within the state. This will bring the high farm economy of the state to domestic and global market which will enhance value addition and export potential.

The state has an approximate of 65,000 units today that are situated in 75 districts. The growth is in line with the industrial strategies of the state. Through the Viksit UP @ 2047 vision, agriculture and allied activities are expected to provide Uttar Pradesh with 1 trillion of its GDP.

Adding 1,000 units per district by the officials will nearly increase the capacity to approximately 140,000 units. The strategy is oriented on contemporary processing of fruits, vegetables and high-value cash crops. This will assist farmers to reach the export markets in U.S, UAE, Bangladesh and Vietnam. To reinforce the objective, UP is developing new agro-processing parks and cold storage units in such locations as Agra and Farrukhabad.

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Already 15 food-processing parks are present in Bareilly, Barabanki, Varanasi, and Gorakhpur districts. Innovation and research will also be enhanced. An International Potato Centre (CIP) to the South-Asia will be established in Agra, which will focus on tuber crops, particularly potatoes. This is because the state is making the expansion viable and well supported by policy.

The policy of the UP Food Processing Industry 2023 will provide subsidies of production based on businesses, reduction of interests, and dispensation of land use, stamp duty and development fees, especially when the project is below 1-50 crore. Over 600 proposals valued above 10000 crore are already approved and 60 projects are complete. The deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya encourages the private companies to invest in this expanding value-chain ecosystem. He claims that it brings farmers, processors and exporters closer.