§1What this business is

Apricots are washed, pitted, blanched, dried in a solar dryer, ground in a pulveriser, sieved and packed. The model makes 500 kg of powder a day. The DPR assumes apricots at ₹80 a kg, 33% recovery and a sale price of ₹600 a kg.

Capacity: 150 tonnes of apricot powder a year (500 kg a day), 300 working days of 8–10 hours. Year 1 is for construction; use is 55% in Year 2, 65%, 75%, 90% and 100% from Year 6. Fruit needed: 916.6 kg a day at 55% to 1,666.66 kg a day at full use.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

A grower group or processor in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand or Kashmir.

Who it is not for

Someone outside the apricot hills.

Advantages

  • Powder is light, shelf-stable and cheap to transport from the hills
  • Saves soft apricots that cannot travel fresh
  • Kernels from the pits can be sold for oil

Drawbacks

  • Needs over a tonne of fruit a day at full use
  • Apricot season lasts only a few weeks
  • Fruit powder buyers are few and ask for lab reports
  • Large working capital for fruit bought in season

Skills you need

  • Pitting and blanching fruit
  • Drying to low moisture before grinding
  • Moisture-proof packing
  • Selling to food makers

Why difficulty 3/5: Simple drying and grinding, but a short season and business buyers to win.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Bakery, confectionery and ice-cream makers
  • Baby-food and health-drink makers
  • Health-food shops and online buyers

How it sells

  • Direct supply to food manufacturers
  • Ingredient traders
  • Retail packs online

Good to know

  • The DPR assumes an average sale price of ₹600 a kg.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Cold store, 9,000 kg1₹8 lakh
Washing tank, 500 litre1₹0.60 lakh
Blanching kettle, 200 litre1₹0.60 lakh
Fruit pitting machine1₹1 lakh
Solar dryer, 600 kg1₹2 lakh
Pulveriser1₹1.40 lakh
Centrifugal sifter with screens1₹0.25 lakh
Induction sealer1₹0.30 lakh
Shrink tunnel1₹0.35 lakh
Continuous sealing machine1₹0.25 lakh
Batch coding machine1₹0.12 lakh
Weighing balance1₹0.06 lakh
Accessories1₹0.50 lakh

From: NIFTEM-Thanjavur (IIFPT) PMFME model DPR — Dried Apricot Powder

  • Fresh apricotscosted at ₹80 a kg; 33% recovery
  • Packing materialjars, pouches and cartons

From: NIFTEM-Thanjavur (IIFPT) PMFME model DPR — Dried Apricot Powder

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam registration
  2. GST registration
  3. FSSAI licence or registration
  4. Legal Metrology registration for packaged goods

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: Building 20 × 32 × 12 ft ₹5.18 L + plant and machinery ₹15.43 L + utilities ₹0.80 L + other fixed assets ₹0.90 L + pre-operative ₹0.90 L + contingencies ₹1.20 L + working capital margin ₹11.28 L = ₹35.69 lakh.

Working capital: Working capital margin ₹11.28 L in the project cost; bank working capital ₹33.85 L in Year 2, ₹40.01 L in Year 3 and ₹54.56 L in Year 4.

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

  • Powder caking from moisture
  • A poor apricot crop
  • Unsold stock at ₹600 a kg
  • Rain during the drying weeks

§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 dried apricot powder 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 Dried Apricot Powder Unit?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. NIFTEM-Thanjavur (IIFPT) PMFME model DPR — Dried Apricot Powder

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