§1What this business is
Grapes are grown on vines trained over a bower — a flat overhead frame of posts and wires. The crop wants well-drained soil of pH 6.5 to 7.5, temperatures of 15-35°C and not more than 900 mm of rain, with dry weather at flowering and ripening. Maharashtra grows about 80% of India's grapes, followed by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; Thompson Seedless covers 55% of the area. Bunches are cut in the early morning, cleaned of broken and under-sized berries, graded by berry size and colour, and packed in 2 to 4 kg ventilated cartons. Most Indian grapes are eaten fresh; a small share goes to raisins and wine.
Capacity: 1 acre, 1,000 vines at 2.0 m × 2.0 m. Yield in the model is 3 tonnes an acre in year two and 10 tonnes an acre in year three.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A farmer in a dry grape belt such as Nashik, Sangli, Bijapur or Solapur with assured water and a co-operative or packhouse nearby.
Who it is not for
Areas with rain or humid weather at flowering and ripening, or growers who cannot afford a careful spray and pruning schedule.
Advantages
- Fruit starts in the second year, sooner than most orchards
- High yield — 10 tonnes an acre by year three in the model
- Grower co-operatives sell and export together and cut out the agent
- Fresh grapes go to about 30 countries
Drawbacks
- Costliest of these NHB fruit models at ₹3,20,000 an acre; the bower alone is ₹1,20,000
- Harvest peaks in March-April, when markets are glutted
- Grapes keep only one week at room temperature
- Export buyers reject fruit over pesticide residue limits
Skills you need
- Pruning and training vines on the bower
- Spray planning that keeps pesticide residue within limits
- Drip irrigation and fertigation
- Bunch cleaning, grading, pre-cooling and packing
Why difficulty 4/5: Capital-heavy and skill-heavy: pruning, sprays and post-harvest handling all have to be right.
§3Market
Who buys
- Pre-harvest contractors who buy the standing crop
- Wholesalers, through commission agents
- Grower co-operative marketing societies
- Exporters and raisin, juice and wine makers
How it sells
- Ventilated corrugated fibre board cartons of 2 to 4 kg for the home market
- 5 kg five-ply cartons of 50 cm × 30 cm × 12 cm for export, sent in refrigerated containers
- Road transport for most of the crop; about 5% moves by rail
Good to know
- India grew 1.21 million tonnes of grapes on 0.05 million ha in 2001-02; Maharashtra's share was 911.60 thousand tonnes.
- Fruit must be pre-cooled below 4.4°C within six hours of harvest; it stores best at 0°C and 92-96% humidity.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Bower system (posts and wires over one acre) | 1 | ₹1,20,000 |
| Tube-well with submersible pump | 1 | ₹56,000 |
| Drip irrigation with fertigation system | 1 | ₹35,000 |
| Hand-operated farm implements | — | ₹10,000 |
| Store and pump house | 1 | ₹30,000 |
| Barbed-wire fencing and gates | — | ₹29,600 |
From: National Horticulture Board model bankable project — Grape (2005)
- Grape vines (planting material)1,000 vines an acre at 2.0 m × 2.0 m; ₹10,000
- Manures and fertilisers₹9,000 in the gestation period
- Insecticides and pesticides₹4,000 in the gestation period
From: National Horticulture Board model bankable project — Grape (2005)
§5Licences & registration
- No licence is needed to grow the crop on your own farm land
- Land ownership or lease papers for the bank loan and subsidy file
- FSSAI registration if you sell packed fruit or raisins under your own name
- APEDA registration, vineyard registration on GrapeNet and a phytosanitary certificate if you export
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 model funds the project as farmer's share ₹1,60,000, capital subsidy ₹64,000 and term loan ₹96,000. Under NHB's current rules, open-field horticulture gets a 35% back-ended subsidy (45% in North-East, Himalayan and scheduled areas) only on projects above 2 hectares that carry a bank term loan, and land cost is not counted. A one-acre plot qualifies only as part of a larger project.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: One-acre model: land levelling ₹4,000 + fencing and gates ₹29,600 + store and pump house ₹30,000 + bower system ₹1,20,000 + tube-well with submersible pump ₹56,000 + drip irrigation with fertigation ₹35,000 + implements ₹10,000 + cultivation in the gestation period ₹35,400 (planting material ₹10,000, manures and fertilisers ₹9,000, pesticides ₹4,000, labour ₹8,800, power ₹3,600) = ₹3,20,000. Land cost is not included.
Working capital: Running costs are farm inputs, labour, power for irrigation, and harvesting, packing and transport to the nearest market. The yearly figures sit in an annexure that is not on the published pages, so they are not quoted here.
Prices from 2005 — planting material, labour and input costs are much higher now. The model counts labour at only ₹70 a day.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: APEDA
- India exported 14.57 thousand tonnes of fresh grapes worth ₹59.96 crore in 2001-02; the UK took 5.04 and the UAE 4.83 thousand tonnes (APEDA figures quoted in the report).
- For Europe, bunches of about 300 to 700 g are packed in food-grade pouches with a grape guard.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Rain at flowering or ripening bringing fungal disease
- Price crash in the March-April glut
- Rejection of export lots for pesticide residue
- Bruising and decay from rough handling at harvest
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working grape vineyard unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (No licence is needed to grow the crop on your own farm land, Land ownership or lease papers for the bank loan and subsidy file), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- 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 Grape Vineyard?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.