Parliament Question: Food processing infrastructure and PM-FME scheme

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3906 ANSWERED ON 27TH MARCH, 2026 FOOD PROCESSING INFRASTRUCTURE AND PM-FME SCHEME

3906. SHRI MILIND MURLI DEORA:

Will the Minister of FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES be pleased to state:

(a) the number of micro food processing enterprises supported under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM-FME) scheme, State-wise;

(b) the extent of reduction in post-harvest losses due to creation of cold chain infrastructure;

(c) whether any evaluation has been conducted of Mega Food Parks and their utilization levels; and

(d) the steps taken to enhance value addition and exports of processed food products? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES (SHRI RAVNEET SINGH)

(a): Under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, loans for 1,72,707 micro food processing enterprises have been sanctioned as on 31st December 2025. The State-wise details are at Annexure I.

(b): The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) estimates post-harvest losses from time to time for various agri-produces in the country through commissioning of studies based on primary surveys. Two studies were commissioned by the Ministry through (i) Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) -Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering & Technology

(CIPHET), 2015 with reference year 2012-14 and (ii) NABARD Consultancy Service Pvt. Ltd

(NABCONS), 2022 with reference year 2020-22. Accordingly, the estimated percentage of Harvest and Post-Harvest loss of various agricultural produce in India at various stages of the supply chain is at Annexure II.

In addition to this, the study on Integrated Cold Chain & Value Addition Infrastructure (ICC & VAI) conducted by this Ministry through M/s AMS, New Delhi reported that 45.76 Lakh MT Per Annum has been processed carrying a value of Rs. 25525.88 crore by implementing ICC & VAI across the country.

(c): Under the Mega Food Park Scheme of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), Assessment / impact evaluation study of the scheme were being carried out regularly through third party in the years 2012, 2014 & 2015 and the last assessment was done in 2020-21. Impact evaluation report has recommended to critically review and relaunch the scheme with significant modification or to design a new scheme (in consultation with industry and other stakeholders) that complements the existing Mega Food Park projects and accelerates the promotion of food processing sector in the country.The scheme has requirement of at least 50 acres of land, which often was a deterrent in hilly and difficult areas. After taking into account recommendations of many state Governments & Working Group constituted under 12th FC, a new scheme of Agro Processing Cluster was launched under PMKSY to develop common infrastructure in relatively smaller geographical area of 10 acres. Since the intent behind MFP scheme was already supplanted under APC scheme, hence it has been decided to discontinue the MFP scheme w.e.f. 01.04.2021 with provision for committed lability.

(d): Under the PMFME Scheme, support is provided to individual micro food processing enterprises, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), cooperatives, and Self Help Groups (SHGs) with credit-linked capital subsidy, capacity building, branding and marketing support. The capital subsidy support is provided to the micro food processing enterprises for purchase of plant and machinery and technical civil work to modernize and promote value addition. Capacity Building programmes are conducted to improve product quality, packaging and compliance with food safety and export standards.

Branding and Marketing support under the PMFME Scheme with a grant of upto 50% of the eligible project cost is provided to the groups of FPOs/SHGs/Cooperatives or an Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of micro food processing enterprises following the cluster approach for developing a common brand with provision for quality control, standardisation, packaging and adhering to food safety parameters for consumer retail sale. In order to promote the exports of processed food products, support is provided to establish end-to-end market linkages through buyer–seller meets, participation in fairs and exhibitions, and integration with organised retail and e-commerce platforms. In addition, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) provides incentives to processed food exporters including micro food processors under its different schemes for Infrastructure Development, Quality, Market Development etc.

*****ANNEXURE I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF THE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3906 FOR ANSWER ON 27.03.2026 REGARDING “FOOD PROCESSING INFRASTRUCTURE AND PM-FME SCHEME State-wise number of loans sanctioned under PMFME Scheme as on 31st December 2025 SN State/UT Number of Micro Enterprises 1 Andaman And Nicobar Islands 18 2 Andhra Pradesh 8651 3 Arunachal Pradesh 149 4 Assam 5194 5 Bihar 28648 6 Chandigarh 5 7 Chhattisgarh 1442 8 Dadra And Nagar Haveli And Daman And Diu 12 9 Delhi 378 10 Goa 141 11 Gujarat 1217 12 Haryana 1737 13 Himachal Pradesh 2628 14 Jammu And Kashmir 2121 15 Jharkhand 4665 16 Karnataka 8402 17 Kerala 8478 18 Ladakh 96 19 Madhya Pradesh 13221 20 Maharashtra 27360 21 Manipur 310 22 Meghalaya 237 23 Mizoram 67 24 Nagaland 440 25 Odisha 3075 26 Puducherry 203 27 Punjab 3108 28 Rajasthan 1444 29 Sikkim 66 30 Tamil Nadu 17869 31 Telangana 7345 32 Tripura 286 33 Uttar Pradesh 22060 34 Uttarakhand 1087 35 West Bengal 547 Total 172707 *****ANNEXURE II ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (b) OF THE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3906 FOR ANSWER ON 27.03.2026 REGARDING “FOOD PROCESSING INFRASTRUCTURE AND PM-FME SCHEME” Post-harvest losses of major crops and commodities Crops/ Commodities Loss (%) As per ICAR-CIPHET As per NABCONS Study (2015)* study (2022)** Cereals 4.65 - 5.99 3.89-5.92 Pulses 6.36 - 8.41 5.65-6.74 Oil Seeds 3.08 - 9.96 2.87-7.51 Fruits 6.70-15.88 6.02-15.05 Vegetables 4.58-12.44 4.87-11.61 Plantation Crops & Spices 1.18-7.89 1.29-7.33 Milk 0.92 0.87 Fisheries (Inland) 5.23 4.86 Fisheries (Marine) 10.52 8.76 Meat 2.71 2.34 Poultry 6.74 5.63 Egg 7.19 6.03

Source: *Report on Assessment of Quantitative Harvest and Post Harvest Losses of Major Crops and commodities in India, 2015. **NABCONS Study 2022 *****