Parliament Question: Low Levels of Processing of Agricultural Produce

GOVERNMENTOF INDIA MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6280 ANSWERED ON 02ND APRIL, 2026 LOW LEVELS OF PROCESSING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE 6280. MS. SAYANI GHOSH: Will the Minister of FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has assessed the persistently low levels of processing of agricultural produce in the country with only about two percent of fruits and vegetables, six percent of poultry are processed despite India being among the world's largest producers of these commodities and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether the Government has examined the economic and income loss arising from such low value addition and if so, the details thereof including its impact on farmers' incomes, employment generation and export competitiveness; (c) whether it is a fact that post-harvest losses of perishable agricultural produce are estimated at twenty to thirty percent, largely due to inadequate cold chain infrastructure, packhouses and refrigerated logistics and if so, the details thereof; (d) the availability and capacity of cold chains, warehouses, food parks, and processing infrastructure, State/UT-wise; (e) whether any regional imbalances or infrastructure deficits have been identified and if so, the details thereof; and (f) whether the Government has assessed the constraints faced by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) which constitute a large share of food processing units and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES (SHRI RAVNEET SINGH) (a): To assess the value addition in various agricultural commodities, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has conducted study to determine the level of processing, titled “Study to Determine the Level of Food Processing in India” in 2021 through Deloitte. The available studies on level of processing are periodic in nature and do not provide year-wise estimates. The details of the extent of processing for the various category/commodities covered in the study are as below: Level of Processing in India (%) Category/ Commodity Year 2010-11 2015-16 2018-19 Paddy 69.7 82.5 92.3 Wheat 55.3 70.1 78.0Coarse Cereals 20.0 28.3 29.4 Cereals (Overall) 51.1 63.7 68.8 Gram 29.3 59.6 80.4 Arhar 31.6 51.3 51.7 Other Pulses 40.5 58.1 53.8 Pulses (Overall) 34.0 57.4 61.8 Foodgrains 49.3 63.2 68.2 Groundnut 8.1 17.5 43.7 Mustard 56.5 36.0 32.5 Other Oilseeds 87.9 79.9 61.5 Oilseeds (Overall) 60.1 49.5 49.8 Fruits 1.6 2.9 4.5 Potatoes & Onion 1.1 2.0 3.2 Other Vegetables 2.7 2.4 2.4 Fruits and Vegetables (Overall) 1.9 2.5 3.3 Milk 17.2 20.1 21.1 Eggs & Poultry 3.5 7.4 11.6 Meat 18.6 22.7 34.2 Animal Husbandry 8.7 12.7 18.7 Fish 2.8 8.3 15.4 Source: Study to determine the level of Food Processing in India 2021 (b) to (c): MoFPI supports the creation and expansion of the processing/preservation capacity through implementation of various schemes viz. Central Sector umbrella scheme- Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), Centrally sponsored "PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme" and Central Sector Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industries (PLISFPI). These schemes aim for the overall development of food processing sector, including creation of modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet, reduce post-harvest losses and wastages and create higher value-addition, providing better returns to farmers, creation of employment opportunities, reducing wastage, increasing the processing level and enhancing the export of the processed foods. 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. As per the findings of the studies, the estimated percentage of Post-Harvest losses of perishable crops covered in the study is placed below: Crops/ Commodities Estimated Percentage Loss As per ICAR-CIPHET As per NABCONS study (2015) study (2022) Fruits 6.70-15.88 6.02-15.05 Vegetables 4.58-12.44 4.87-11.61However, there is some level of post-harvest losses and wastage and rare instances of selling of produce at less than optimal prices due to less than optimal processing capacity and cold storages, constraints at the farm gate level, climate volatility, etc. To address the above issues and holistic end to end development of food processing sector, the MoFPI supports the creation and expansion of the processing/preservation capacity through implementation of various schemes viz. Central Sector umbrella scheme- Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), Centrally sponsored "PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme" and Central Sector Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industries (PLISFPI). So far no specific assessment has been done by MoFPI to examine income loss due to low level of processing. (d): The details are placed at Annexure-I. (e): The Indian cold storage and food processing industry has experienced growth, mainly increasing demand for perishable goods and advancements in technology. However, there are some deficiencies particularly in sectors and states. Addressing these infrastructure gaps is vital for reducing post-harvest losses, enhancing food security, and fostering the growth of the agricultural sector. MoFPI so far has not conducted any specific study on identifying overall regional imbalances or infrastructure deficits. (f): The Government is aware that MSMEs constitute a significant share of food processing units in the country and face a number of constraints that affect their growth and competitiveness. These include challenges relating to access to finance, modern technology, quality and packaging infrastructure, cold chain and storage facilities, compliance with food safety standards, skilled manpower, branding and marketing, and market linkages. To address these issues, MoFPI is implementing a centrally sponsored "PM Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme" for providing financial, technical and business support for setting up of new/ upgradation of micro food processing enterprises in the country. The scheme is operational for a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 Crore. The scheme aims to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry and promote formalization of the sector. *****ANNEXURE-I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (d) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6280 FOR ANSWER ON 02ND APRIL, 2026 ON “LOW LEVELS OF PROCESSING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE” 1. State wise distribution of Cold Storages as on 31.01.2026 in the Country S. No. Name of the State Number. Capacity (MT) 1 Andaman & Nicobar Islands (UT) 4 2210 2 Andhra Pradesh & Telangana 480 1996340 3 Arunachal Pradesh 2 6000 4 Assam 45 212662 5 Bihar 316 1490200 6 Chandigarh (UT) 7 12462 7 Chhattisgarh 132 586863 8 Delhi 97 129857 9 Goa 29 7705 10 Gujarat 1032 4086046 11 Haryana 388 891494 12 Himachal Pradesh 89 181318 13 Jammu & Kashmir 102 404814 14 Jharkhand 60 250077 15 Karnataka 271 930379 16 Kerala 202 96655 17 Lakshadweep (UT) 1 15 18 Madhya Pradesh 341 1498651 19 Maharashtra 672 1259932 20 Manipur 2 4500 21 Meghalaya 4 8200 22 Mizoram 3 4071 23 Nagaland 5 8150 24 Orissa 182 579321 25 Pondicherry (UT) 4 185 26 Punjab 780 2642715 27 Rajasthan 192 661876 28 Sikkim 2 2100 29 Tamil Nadu 188 399690 30 Telangana 117 627131 31 Tripura 14 46354 32 Uttar Pradesh 2489 15101408 33 Uttrakhand 62 206848 34 West Bengal 517 5952997 8831 40289226 (Source: Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) upto 2009, National Horticulture Board (NHB), National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan States (HMNEH)) and MoFPI2. The details of the total number of warehouses registered under Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority Total no. of active warehouses Sl. registered with Capacity in No. State Name WDRA MT 1 Andaman And Nicobar Islands 0 0 2 Andhra Pradesh 269 3329187 3 Arunachal Pradesh 0 0 4 Assam 10 137218 5 Bihar 140 803464 6 Chandigarh 0 0 7 Chhattisgarh 215 2430958 8 Delhi 2 32458 9 Goa 0 0 10 Gujarat 331 2192937 11 Haryana 252 4436898 12 Himachal Pradesh 3 8850 13 Jammu And Kashmir 23 175966 14 Jharkhand 35 294860 15 Karnataka 79 999630 16 Kerala 20 144602 17 Ladakh 0 0 18 Lakshadweep 0 0 19 Madhya Pradesh 3548 19369664 20 Maharashtra 417 2941813 21 Manipur 0 0 22 Meghalaya 0 0 23 Mizoram 0 0 24 Nagaland 1 13000 25 Odisha 101 895400 26 Puducherry 1 7350 27 Punjab 92 2465921 28 Rajasthan 482 4312019 29 Sikkim 0 0 30 Tamil Nadu 838 1882299 31 Telangana 220 2845586 Dadra And Nagar Haveli And 32 Daman And Diu 0 0 33 Tripura 1 11277 34 Uttarakhand 8 62143 35 Uttar Pradesh 301 4798429 36 West Bengal 50 559402 Total 7439 55151331 Source: WDRA3. The details of the processing infrastructure created through the various component schemes of PMKSY including the food parks Figures in lakh metric tonnes/Annum S.No State APC BFL CC CEFPPC MFP OG Andaman & 0 1 Nicobar 0 0.27 0.00 0 0 2 Andhra Pradesh 0.15 0 5.73 7.28 1.88 2.98 3 Arunachal Pradesh 0 0 0.11 2.28 0.24 0 4 Assam 1.003 0.3 0.04 11.22 0 0.06 5 Bihar 0.23 0 6.75 1.61 0.6 0 6 Chandigarh 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 7 Chhattisgarh 0.3 0.014 0 1.47 0.42 0 D&N Haveli and 0 8 D&D 0 0 0.05 0 0 9 Delhi 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 10 Goa 0 0 0 0.06 0 0 11 Gujarat 1.47 0.508 11.93 4.05 0.32 2.85 12 Haryana 0.396 0 7.28 3.79 0.11 0 13 Himachal Pradesh 0 0.08 0.99 1.89 0.43 0.06 14 Jammu & Kashmir 0 0.089 0.45 1.84 0.02 0 15 Jharkhand 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 16 Karnataka 0.08 0.22 7.25 4.51 1.6 0.24 17 Kerala 0.13 0.27 1.01 1.18 0.36 0 18 Ladakh 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 19 Lakshadweep 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 20 Madhya Pradesh 0.57 0.015 3.05 7.02 1.97 0.35 21 Maharashtra 2.81 0.698 51.65 24.73 0.85 2.11 22 Manipur 0 0 0 0.01 0.59 0 23 Meghalaya 0 0 0 0.13 0.18 0 24 Mizoram 0 0 0.32 0.00 0.07 0 25 Nagaland 0 0 0.39 0.00 0.19 0 26 Odisha 0.54 0 2.95 2.04 1.18 0 27 Puduchery 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 28 Punjab 1.18 0.17 5.85 2.54 2.04 0.24 29 Rajasthan 0.345 0.158 3.96 3.89 0.8 0 30 Sikkim 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 31 Tamil Nadu 4.11 0.734 7.32 5.54 0.1 0.46 32 Telangana 1.656 0 12.31 11.41 0.61 0 33 Tripura 0 0 0 1.03 0.07 0 34 Uttar Pradesh 0.15 1.01 8.74 9.03 0 0.8 35 Uttarakhand 0 0.75 4.62 3.21 0.78 0 36 West Bengal 0 0 4.56 4.09 0 0 Total 15.12 5.016 147.53 115.86 15.41 10.15 CC-Integrated Cold Chain & Value Addition Infrastructure, CEFPPC-Creation/ Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities, OG-Operation Greens, APC-Creation of Infrastructure for Agro Processing Clusters, MFP-Mega Food Parks (discontinued w.e.f. 01.04.2021) and CBFL- Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages (discontinued w.e.f. 01.04.2021). *****