Food Processing Industry in Rajasthan :

Rajasthan is located on northwest part of India with a rich cultural history and a well-developed culinary tradition based on traditional foods. Rajasthan is India's largest state by area (342,239 square kilometers and 10.4% of India's total area).

Wheat, Bajra (pearl millet), and Maize are the major crops produced in Rajasthan. It produces a large variety of spices and is the largest producer of Psyllium, Cluster bean, Fenugreek, cumin, mustard, pearl millet, moth bean and Coriander. Rajasthan has 10% of the total livestock in India and is the second largest producer of milk in India.

Advantanges for Rajasthan :

• A state with 10 agro climatic zones and a diverse portfolio of products to select
• Top contributor of spices, milk and nutri-cereals in India
• Rajasthan has the distinction of having largest population of cattle, sheep and camels
• 40% of Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) which is India’s biggest infrastructure transformation project, passes through the State of Rajasthan

Major strength of Rajasthan’s food processing industry lies in the following:

Nutri-cereals- Pearl millet (Bajra) & other small millets  Pulses- Green gram (Moong), Chik pea, Moth beans
 Seed Spices- Cumin, Coriander, Fenugreek, Ajwain ( Bishop Weed) & Fennel

Medicinal crops- Psyllium (Isabgoal), Indian ginseng (Ashwagandha), Asparagus racemosus
(Satawari) , Aloe vera, Senna (Sonamukhi) , Indian Gooseberry  Oilseeds- Mustard, Soyabean, Peanut
 Commercial crop- Cluster bean
 Livestock: Drought hardy Milch breeds (Rathi, Gir, Sahiwal and Tharparkar).
 Fruits: Mandarin, Kinnow
 Vegetables: Tomato , green chilies, peas, onion, potato, cauliflower, carrot, cabbage, garlic

Rajasthan has the following marketing infrastructure in the state:

• Agri-Export Zones : Total of 2 Agri Export Zones, with focus on spices, have been identified by the State Government, five districts for coriander (Kota, Baran, Jhalawar, Bundi and Chittorgarh) and five for cumin (Barmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Nagaur and Pali)  
• 141 main market yards and 315 sub market yards, 4 big pack houses, 5 small pack houses and 7 cold storages are in operation and one walk-in cooling chamber at Jaipur Airport.
• Kisan Bhawan (Farmer's Facilitation House) at 7 divisional headquarters and all district headquarters. These are operational as lodging facilities for farmers to stay while coming to the market.  
• Mustard Research Centre, Bharatpur
• 8 AGMARK (a certification mark embossed on agricultural products in India) laboratories  for grading of the produce.
• Food Processing Units: About 10,000 units are operational in the micro and small scale sector and approximately 75 units in the medium and large scale sector

Processing Clusters : Rajasthan has several districts known for processing. However, Most of the raw material produced in Rajasthan are processed outside the state. Famous Indian snack- Bikaner Bhujia, a product with Geographical Indication tag, is from Bikaner district in Rajasthan.

Jodhpur is a large chilli market and a large number of chilli processing plants.

Infrastructure :

Industrial Areas & Food parks: A number of industrial areas and food parks are available in the state for investors keen on setting up food processing units in the state. The key food parks in the state include: Green Tech Mega Food Park Pvt. Ltd., Ajmer, Agro Food Park Jodhpur, Agro Food Park Ranpur, Kota Agro Food Park – II Ranpur, Agro Food Park – II Ranpur, Alwar.

Cold Chains: The objective of the Scheme of Cold Chain, Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure is to provide integrated cold chain and preservation infrastructure facilities, without any break, from the farm gate to the consumer.

Famous Ethnic Foods of Rajasthan:

Ker Sangri: Dried black berries and twiggy beans soaked in mustard oil with whole red chillies and tart raw mango

Raab: A thick broth made from millet (bajra) flour and buttermilk, which is heated and fermented.

Ghevar: A special sweet dessert from Jaipur that is essentially a dish made from flour, soaked in ghee (clarified butter), milk & topped with sliced almonds.

Marketing Reforms in Rajasthan to ease procurement of raw materials :  

Contract Farming : Allow contract farming for fruits, vegetables, medicine plants, barley, maize and aromatic plants.
 E-Commerce: Permit the setting up of private sub e-markets.
Direct Purchase : The state has allowed to remove all restrictions on direct purchase of agriculture and horticulture products produced in the State by the agro-processing enterprises
 Market Fee: The market fee on fruits and vegetables has been exempted and trade outside yard is free.  

Private Market Yard: Private sector can establish market yards to enhance supplies to industries.