Food Processing

In a country that grows enormous quantities of food but wastes a lot of it after harvest, food processing is a natural priority. Over the past decade, the government expanded the sector's infrastructure — mega food parks, cold chains, agro-processing clusters and testing labs — under the umbrella Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana and, from 2021, a ₹10,900 crore Production-Linked Incentive scheme.

Around 41 mega food parks and hundreds of cold-chain projects were sanctioned, the One District One Product (ODOP) approach promotes local specialities, and Operation Greens stabilises prices of perishables like tomato, onion and potato. Processing adds value close to the farm, and processed food made up 20.4% of agri-food exports in 2024-25, up from 13.7% in 2014-15.

Food processing turns raw farm produce into packaged, longer-lasting, higher-value products — and its biggest job in India is cutting waste, since a lot of fruit, vegetables and milk spoils before it is sold. The government builds the missing infrastructure — mega food parks, cold chains and testing labs under the Kisan Sampada scheme — and, through the PMFME scheme, formalises tiny local food businesses with cheap loans and branding help.

The central push is lifting how much produce is processed — the target the cold-chain and mega food-park investments are built around. Processed-food exports were $10.1 billion in 2024-25, about a fifth of India's agri-food exports, and the sector is a big potential job-creator; the next steps are organising supply chains, cutting post-harvest losses, and drawing global investment as India's neo-middle class eats more packaged food.

$5.3 → $10.1 bn processed-food exports (2017-18 → 2024-25), peaking at $13.1 bn in 2022-23. Processed food 20.4% of agri-food exports (2024-25), up from 13.7% (2014-15). ~41 mega food parks (scheme closed to new projects in 2021); PLI ₹10,900 crore. Sources: MoFPI (DGCI&S data) via PIB; MoFPI Annual Report 2021-22.