Uttar Pradesh Turns India's Food Processing Hub Under Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh is creating a new history of industrial growth—one firmly rooted in agriculture and fueled by technology. A recent study by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) names Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat as India's "food processing powerhouses." 

While Gujarat leads with hi-tech dehydration units at Mehsana and Banaskantha, Uttar Pradesh is gaining momentum with high-tech processing units at Agra and Farrukhabad. These new units are transforming farm-level economies by enabling contract farming, value addition, and high-quality cold storage chains—enabling farmers to double incomes.

Today, Uttar Pradesh is housing more than 65,000 food processing units employing almost 2.55 lakh young people across the state. The target of the government to establish 1,000 new units in each district is bound to spur rural development as well as employment generation.

State's 15 food and agro-processing parks in Bareilly, Barabanki, Varanasi, and Gorakhpur are turning out to be engines of local growth. Specifically, the ₹1,660 crore integrated agro-processing facility of Bareilly-based BL Agro will have rice milling units, oil extraction, and packaging, reflecting increasing confidence of the private sector in the industrial vision of the state.

The government is concentrating on high-value crop processing, fruits and vegetables, and foreign market-oriented industries with the aim of linking farmers directly to overseas markets. The largest development in this sector is the new South Asia Regional Centre of the International Potato Centre (CIP) being developed in the pipeline at Agra that will catalyze innovative research on potatoes and other root and tuber crops. The scheme will likely cover large production belts like Kanpur, Agra, Lucknow, and Farrukhabad, raising farm incomes and exportability.

With increasing demand for Indian processed food from around the world, nations such as the U.S., Bangladesh, the UAE, and Vietnam are becoming promising markets for Uttar Pradesh agro products. As Indian consumer spending is expected to touch $6 trillion by 2030, the food processing industry is ready to grow mushroom-like—capturing monstrous investment and job opportunities.

In order to continue this momentum, Food Processing Industry Policy 2023 of the Yogi government has provided a strong foundation for industrial growth. The policy has production-linked subsidies, interest subventions, and exemptions from land use, stamp duty, and development charges. It also promotes the use of solar power, cold chain infrastructure, and technology-driven cluster development.

Meanwhile, by creating a three-tier value chain connecting farmers, processors, and entrepreneurs, Uttar Pradesh is creating a model of sustainable agri-industrialization. With its solid raw material base, quality human resources, and low-cost environment, the state is poised to become one of the most favored places for food processing investment in India—a change that could revolutionize the rural economy and help make Uttar Pradesh a dominant player on the global agri-industry map.