The Milling Industry

Various reports suggest that the production of bakery items in India, including pastries, cakes, bread, biscuits, and buns is fast expanding.

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The middle class population in India is showing increasing interest in a variety of bakery items, the demand for both traditional and new bakery items such as crackers, pasta, pizza and burgers are slated to grow even further.

As the bakery industry progresses, its ancillary industries would also receive a fillip, like milling. This is a sector which offers ample opportunities, as it caters not only to the bakery sector but also to the packaged food industry.

Milling plays an important role not only in Indian homes but also in the bakery industry - Indian and international. Be it bread, biscuits, cookies, cakes, etc al., the role of the chakki, or gristmill, cannot be overlooked. In fact, if you look around, you will find gristmill at every nook and corner of the country. And as the bakery industry progresses, there will be demand for better and bigger grinding mills, giving enterprising entrepreneurs an opportunity to invest in a growing industry.

Mills in the Early Period

The millers in the early period also doubled up as bakers, and therefore they also used to draw immense respect from the society. However, gradually, the division of labour became more prominent and the job of grinding the grains and baking got split into two separate jobs.

The grist mill in the ancient period was water-powered. In his Geography, the Greek geographer Strabon reported the existence of a water-powered grain-mill near the palace of King Mithradates VI Eupator at Cabira, Asia Minor, before 71 BC.