Maharashtra's Food Processing Industry: Policies and Initiatives

Maharashtra's Food Processing Industry is booming with a significant push from the central and state governments. Maharashtra is the 2nd largest state in terms of population and 3rd largest in terms of geographical area.

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As per the 2011 census, Maharashtra had a population of 112 crores, with a literacy rate of 82.3% and a sex ratio of 929 (Females per thousand males). The state is one of the highly urbanized states of India with a population density of population as 365 (per sq. km). Maharashtra is India's largest state economy, contributing ~15% to India's GDP. The State is also an Industrial powerhouse. It contributes ~15.5% of India's manufacturing and ~15.7% of exports from the country.

Analyzing Maharashtra's Logistics & Infrastructure Profile

♦ The state has ideal logistics and infrastructure 720 km long coastline covered by 2 major (JNPT & MBPT) and 48 non-major ports.

♦ The state has a total National Highways length of 18,366 km and a state highway length of 30,465 km. Approximately 99.2% of villages have road connectivity in the state

♦ The state has a total railway length of ~11,631 km, capturing 9% of the country's railway network.

♦ Maharashtra has 4 international and 8 domestic airports that are operational. Further, there are 2 upcoming airports in the state at Navi Mumbai and Pune (Purandar).

♦ The state ranks 2nd in terms of electricity generation installed capacity.

♦ Maharashtra has a 2.23 MMTPA of warehousing capacity along with 1.03 MMTPA of cold storage capacity.

Food Processing Hubs in Maharashtra

The state of Maharashtra boasts 292 industrial areas, 99 cooperative industrial estates, along with dedicated sectoral parks spread over 2.5 lakh acres of land. The state also has dedicated wine parks, silver parks, 9 SEZs, floriculture parks, food parks, etc.

Mega Food Parks

Currently, the state has three Mega Food Parks out of which two are operational, while the third one is under construction. These Mega parks are:

1. Satara Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd

2. Paithan Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd