Rice Milling Business in India

In India, rice is cultivated on a mass scale. Rice is one of its
most important dietary staples and more than 65% of its human
population relies on rice for its daily food requirement. The rice
crop occupies more than 37% of the total crop area in India and
accounts for almost 44% of all the food grains produced in the
country.

An integral process of rice production is rice milling. And just like
in any nation where rice is produced on a large scale, rice milling
has been around for a very long time in India. The need for
milling arises because paddy cannot be consumed in its raw form
and requires suitable processing.

Owing to this huge global demand for rice, rice milling, today, is a
fast-growing agro-business which you can successfully leverage
for financial benefits. However, being a commercially profitable
business, setting up a rice mill requires extensive knowledge and
capital.

If you can manage to arrange the capital requirement, you must
read further to learn how to set up a rice milling industry in
India:

1. Decide the rice milling type: One pass, two step or commercial:
The one pass process is one where husk and bran layers are
removed in a single pass. The two step process does it separately;
it requires traditional machinery and equipment and is mostly done
for consumption within the local community. Commercial milling is
an extensive process which requires the use of modern milling
machinery. It is done mainly with a view to export the produce.
Unlike the two processes mentioned above, it involves a number
of processes:

Pre-cleaning
De-stoning
Removing husk
Husk aspiration
Paddy removal
Polishing
Whitening
Grading and separating
Blending
Mist polishing
Weighing and Bagging
Storing

2. Gain knowledge: learn from the experts: Before you plunge into
rice milling business, it’s important for you to take a look at
the environment and understand the important facts about rice
milling industry in your area. Learn the pitfalls and challenges
involved, have a feel of the different processes involved. Basically,
learn as much as you can in the shortest time span.

3. Devise a business plan: A lot of factors are into play and you
cannot enter this competitive industry without a detailed strategy.
Since you’ve already acquired the basic know how, now you
need to put everything into a plan. Clearly mention your
business’s aims and objectives, p&l analysis, projected earnings,
target market, staff requirement, competition, etc. All in all, keep
a tab on everything required to get you up and running.

4. Obtain permits and licenses: To actualize the rice milling
venture, you need to obtain certain licenses from the Government
of India. You need to:
Register your business with Registrar of Companies
Registration with Udyog Aadhaar MSME
Factory license
Obtain Consent to Establish and Operate from Pollution Control
Board
Obtain license as per Rice Milling Industry Act, 1958
VAT Registration
One must also comply with ESIC and PFA registration for the
employees
If you wish to export, you also need to obtain Import-Export
Code

5. Acquire land: Get your hands on a suitable location which is
easily accessible.

6. Buy and Install equipment: Some of the machines in use today
are:

Rice cleaner
Rice de-stoner
Rice Husker
Colour sorter
Paddy separator
Rice polisher and whitener
Rice grader
Dryer, etc.

Since it solely depends on your requirements and business scale,
it’s best to consult a rice milling expert. They will also help you
set up the machinery.

The final step in starting a rice milling business is acquiring the
raw materials and starting with the production. Since it’s
important to maintain production all through the year, it’s
important that you receive guaranteed supplies.

You can:
Start with your own rice farming
Buy from suppliers, i.e. farmers or farmer markets

Nextech Agri Solutions is a grain processing and engineering
consultant equipped with all the necessary expertise required for
Basmati rice processing.