§1What this business is

Ripe dates bought from farms or suppliers are sorted, cleaned, pitted where needed, dried to under 20% moisture, graded by size and packed on a thermoforming vacuum packing machine with printed film. The DPR costs dates at ₹72.4 a kg and sells at ₹180 a kg. It is written for an existing unit that already has land and a building.

Capacity: 75,000 kg of packed dates a year. Use is 50% in Year 1, 55%, 60%, 65% and 70% from Year 5.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

A dry-fruit trader or packer, or a grower group in Kutch or western Rajasthan.

Who it is not for

Someone without a trade link to date importers or growers.

Advantages

  • India is the world's largest importer of dates, so demand is proven
  • Sales peak at Ramzan and festivals, and stay steady as a health food
  • Dates store well, so wastage is low
  • Simple process — mostly sorting and packing

Drawbacks

  • One packing machine is ₹24 lakh of the cost
  • Profit in the DPR is modest — under ₹10 lakh a year for four years
  • Most good dates are imported, so the rupee rate affects cost

Skills you need

  • Grading dates by variety and size
  • Pest control and fumigation rules
  • Running a vacuum packing line
  • Branding and festival-season selling

Why difficulty 2/5: Mostly a sorting and packing trade; buying well matters more than technology.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Dry-fruit shops and grocers
  • Supermarkets and department stores
  • Hotels, caterers and restaurants

How it sells

  • Wholesalers and distributors
  • Organised retail
  • Online marketplaces

Good to know

  • The DPR assumes an average sale price of ₹180 a kg.
  • Machinery prices carry 18% GST on top (₹4,73,400 on ₹26,30,000).

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Thermoforming vacuum packing machine1₹24,00,000
Weighing machine2₹30,000
Printing machine1₹1,50,000
Equipment and other tools—₹50,000

From: NIFTEM-Thanjavur (IIFPT) PMFME model DPR — Dates

  • Ripe date fruitcosted at ₹72.4 a kg; from farms or suppliers
  • PET and polystyrene film rollsfor thermoformed vacuum packs
  • Printing inksfor printing the film

From: NIFTEM-Thanjavur (IIFPT) PMFME model DPR — Dates

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam registration
  2. GST registration
  3. FSSAI licence or registration
  4. Legal Metrology registration for packaged goods
  5. Trade licence from the local body

We can do this registration for you

Start it in your state

Pick your state: today’s cost, central + state subsidy, raw material, land and help, on one page.

§6Schemes & subsidies

The DPR is written for PMFME (35% credit-linked subsidy, up to ₹10 lakh, for micro food units). PMEGP is another route for a new unit of this size, and CGTMSE can back the bank loan without collateral.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Land and building nil (already owned) + plant and machinery ₹31.03 L (₹26.30 L plus 18% GST) + other fixed assets ₹3.00 L + working capital margin ₹2.81 L + contingencies ₹1.70 L = ₹38.54 lakh.

Working capital: Working capital requirement ₹8.43 L (30 days of raw material and finished goods); ₹2.81 L margin is in the project cost.

Year not printed on the DPR (the PMFME scheme began in 2020) — check current machinery prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Export council / board: APEDA

  • The DPR gives no export costing; an exporter needs an IEC and registration with the export body before shipping.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Insect infestation in stored dates
  • Import price or duty changes
  • Unsold stock after the festival season
  • Breakdown of the single packing machine

§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan

A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.

  1. Days 1–30: Visit a working dates processing and packaging unit unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST registration), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
  3. Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.

§11Who to connect with

§12Watch

There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.

Want to start Dates Processing and Packaging Unit?

DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.

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Sources

  1. NIFTEM-Thanjavur (IIFPT) PMFME model DPR — Dates

Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.