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Food Processing
Bihar: Land of immense opportunity for Food Industry

Bihar is the largest producer of vegetables and the second largest producer of fruits in India. It is one of the
strongest agricultural States, with very high productivity. The state has an excellent climate with fertile soil and
abundant water. Its diverse agro-climatic conditions translate into diverse crops suited to different agro-economic
conditions. The percentage of population employed in agricultural production in Bihar is estimated to be 74 per cent,
which is much higher than the national average.

Coupled with the fact of ever growing population with an increasing purchasing power and changing life style, the
state thus offers an immense opportunity to establish wide range and big numbers of food processing units. The
Government of Bihar has special emphasis on the establishment and growth of food processing industry to create
modern enabling infrastructure for food processing unit in the State with farm to market linkages.

Maize Processing
Bihar is one of the largest maize growing state and the crop was grown primarily as a subsistence crop to meet food
needs for a long time till recently. Bihar's rabi maize output doubled from 10.64 to 21.26 lakh tonnes (LT) between
2005-06 and 2013-14.

Maize can be utilized in many different forms by converting it into a variety of products, through grinding, alkali
processing, boiling, cooking and fermenting, such as corn starch, corn akes and cereals, ethanol etc. It also has
many industrial applications, which can make it a pro table crop in the state.

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06/06/2019 In Bihar only 8-10% of maize is processed within the state despite the fact that the state has huge and rising
DOI Bihar
marketable surplus. While the area under cultivation, maize production & yield have increased, there are only 8-10
maize processing units in Bihar. They are mainly into milling of our and production poultry feed. In absence of
adequate processing facility, the huge marketable surplus of Bihar, especially in rabi season depends completely on
other states for its consumption.

There is potential for processing of both high & low value added products in maize sector in the state itself. There
are factors contributing to increase in the demand of processed maize. Some of them are (1) growing demand for
eggs and chicken leading to increased demand for poultry feed in the state; (2) the state has 8 lakh hectare land
under water which is suitable for sh farming; (3) increased demand for ethanol as a fuel additive; (4) growing
urbanization leading to increased demand for processed food like corn akes etc; (5) dairy sector is on growth path
and this sector can provide a good market for cattle feed products.

Modern Rice Mills

Bihar is one of the largest markets for milled rice.

The state has some famous ne varieties including Katarani rice, renowned for its special aroma, produced in
Bhagalpur- Munger region. Patna rice is another ne variety of the state. 'Sona Chood' of Bhojpur region is yet
another scented variety of paddy grown in Bihar.

Under foodgrains, the percentage share of rice is around 45 percent. The productivity of rice was about 2463
KGS/HA in the year 2011-12. Districts like Rohtas, Kaimur, Aurangabad, Bhojpur and Buxar in south-west region, are
known as the "Rice Bowl" of the state. These districts account for more than 30% of rice production and have a
thriving rice milling cluster.

Bihar is also one of the largest markets for milled rice. In fact, installed capacity of rice milling is not enough to meet
the existing demand and existing mills also require expansion and modernization. Thus, there is a large scope for
setting up new and modern rice mills in the state which can make variety of rice products. There are also signi cant

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06/06/2019 opportunities in utilization of by products for making starch, bran
DOI oil etc. The large paddy production also offers
Bihar
opportunities for setting up husk based power generation in the state.

Vegetables Processing

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06/06/2019  Recently Bihar holds the highest position in vegetable production in India. In 2011-12, the total area under
DOI Bihar

vegetable production has reached up to 8.53 Lacs Hectares which is about 12 percent of gross sown area.
 Bihar is the largest producer of Okra in the country, second largest producer of Cabbage, third largest producer of
Potato, Brinjal, Cauli ower and Onion.
 Taking into account the gures for the year 2011-12, the important vegetable crops include potato (61.01 Lacs
MT), onion (12.37 Lacs MT), tomato (11.04 Lacs MT), cauli ower (11.55 Lacs MT) and brinjal (12.71 Lacs MT).
 Vegetables produced in the state feeds far off places including Delhi and Kolkata also apart from the huge local
markets.
 While production of vegetables is well dispersed over the districts, major vegetable growing districts of the state
are Patna, Nalanda, Vaishali, Muzaffarpur, W. Champaran, E. Champaran etc.
 Growth of organized retail market in fresh fruits and vegetables offers signi cant opportunities for processing and
value packaging facilities in vegetable production centers in the state.

Fruit Processing
Mango, guava, litchi and banana are the major fruit crops of Bihar. In 2011-12, the total area under fruit crops was
2.97 Lacs Ha which is 5.34 percent of the net cultivated area.

The production levels of major fruits in 2011-12 were mango (12.41 Lacs MT), guava (2.45 Lacs MT), litchi (2.36
Lacs MT) and banana (15.80 Lacs MT). Bihar is the largest producer of litchi, third largest of pineapple and fourth
largest of mango in India.

Litchi
 At around 2 Lacs MT of production, Bihar accounts for almost 75 % of national production of this delicious fruit.
 Most sought after produce of the state in both national and international market, Litchi offers an unparalleled
range of processing opportunities.
 This highly perishable fruit requires a speci c climate and soil condition, found in the area around Muzaffarpur
district which remains focal point of litchi production in the country.
 The Brand "Muzaffarpur Litchi" or "Shahi Litchi" commands a special respect in the fresh as well as processed
fruit segments.
 Limited period of harvesting season and high perishability of litchi makes it imperative for all litchi processors to
have their facilities near to production centres in the state which are also well connected to major markets over the
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06/06/2019 years. Litchi is amenable to processing of various levels and entrepreneurs
DOI Bihar may choose to set up Units for Pulp,
juice, nectar, beverage, jam, jelly, pulp slabs, etc.

Banana

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 Around 10 Lacs MT of Banana produced over 28 thousand Ha of land.

 Two major production clusters, around Bhagalpur and Vaishali, account for almost 50 % of state production. With
hub at Naugachia, Bhagalpur region produces more than 2 Lac MT of Hari Chaal and Robusta varieties. The second
cluster around Vaishali region produces more than 2.5 Lacs MT of Muthia and Chinia varieties.
 Banana offers signi cant opportunities for both fresh and processed food market. There are opportunities of
setting up modern ripening chambers for catering to premium national and international market. There may also be
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06/06/2019 scope for processing units for making Pulp, baby food, bananaDOIbre, packing material, banana ower vegetables
Bihar

(Ready to eat), banana trunk vegetables & pickles.

 Processed Banana is picking up fast with the South Indian market. New markets are emerging in the gulf
countries and Middle East.
 In terms of diversi cation, Banana Fiber (trunk and leaves) has a scope as well as a good market as one of the
diversi ed textile bres. Naugachia, being a district in the near vicinity of Bhagalpur (textile hub of Bihar) has an
added advantage for setting up bre extraction and yarning units, over and above food processing.

Mango
 Mango is the leading fruit crop of Bihar with an approximate share of 50 per cent of the total area under fruit
crops.
 It is grown in over 100,000 hectares of land; the state has an annual production of 1.5 million MT.
 Bihar is the fourth largest producer of mangoes in the country, accounting for nearly 11 per cent of the total
production.
 The state is known for a large variety of mangoes grown in its plains, the most popular being Maldah, Bombay,
Jardalu, Jarda, Safeda, Sepia, Sukul and Gulabkhas. The leading mango-producing districts include Darbhanga,
Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, East and West Champaran and Bhagalpur.
 The Planning Commission has identi ed the district of Darbhanga for systematic development of the fruit crop for
its total commercial exploitation.

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06/06/2019 DOI Bihar

Makhana

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 Gorgon nut or fox nut, commonly known as makhana is a high value commodity. Bihar is the only state producing
makhana (gorgon nut) commercially. An almost exclusive offering from the state, having more than 90% production
of the nut in the country, this highly nutritious crop is traditionally used in roasted form as snack and for kheer
making.
 Annual production of Makhana pop is estimated at around 96,000 tonnes, with major producing districts being
Darbhanga, Madhubani, Purnea and Katihar.
 As Makhana is now increasingly accepted as a health food all over the country, it offers signi cant opportunities
for value addition through limited investment in primary processing and packaging facilities.
 Further research and development efforts for this product also give hopes for variety of processed Makhana
products. Growing popularity, unique positioning and being a product adored by masses as well as classes proves
its potential to become a major attraction in the processed food segment.

Dairy
 The total milk procured during 2011-12 was 1075 thousand kgs. per day, which works out to 122 kgs. per
functional dairy cooperative society per day.
 Only about 10 percent of the milk production is processed by COMFED (Sudha Dairy) at 11 places in Barauni,
Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Patna, Gaya, Ara, Bhagalpur and Kaimur and another 2-3 percent in the private sector.
 A huge untapped market for milk, ghee, butter, lassi, curd, paneer, Ice Cream, Gulabjamun, Rasogulla Kalakand etc.
exists in the state on a perennial basis. The same is also an ever growing one.
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06/06/2019  As estimated in the vision document, the market size for theDOI
milk and milk products in Bihar by 2015 would be at a
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whopping Rs. 9977 Crore.

Tea

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 Around 25,000 acres of land are covered under tea plantation, mostly in Kishanganj and the rest in Purnea, Katihar
and Araria districts. Tea plantation in Kishanganj district, provides employment to about 15,000 workers. The district
has been declared as a non-traditional area under a Tea Board scheme, and enjoys subsidies/incentives. There are
two processing units in the district, which produces green leaf tea that is ultimately converted to around 2,300
tonnes of processed tea.
 The annual production of tea is over 4 million kgs.
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06/06/2019 DOI Bihar
 Food Processing

 Small Machine Manufacturing

 IT, Ites, Electrical & Electronic Hardware Manufacturing

 Plastic & Rubber

 Renewable Energy

 Tourism

 Technical Education

 Leather

 Healthcare

 Textile

 Sugarcane

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