§1What this business is
Guava is a hardy fruit tree grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas up to 1,500 m. It tolerates heat and drought but young plants can be killed by severe frost. Budded or layered plants are set 6 m apart in June–July. The plants start bearing at 2–3 years and reach full bearing at 8–10 years; a 10-year-old plant gives about 100 to 150 kg of fruit a year. There are rainy-season, winter and spring crops, and the winter crop is the better one. Legumes or vegetables are grown between the rows in the first three years. Fruit is packed in baskets, or in wooden or corrugated boxes with padding for distant markets.
Capacity: One acre with 110 plants at 6 m x 6 m. Yield is 3 tonnes in the first bearing year, rising to 6 tonnes.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A small farmer near a town market who wants a fruit crop that starts paying in two to three years.
Who it is not for
Farmers with water-logged land, or far from a market that can take fruit the same day.
Advantages
- Plants start bearing at 2–3 years
- Tolerates heat and drought
- More than one crop season in a year
- Fruit is also used for jam, jelly and nectar
Drawbacks
- Delicate fruit with a short shelf life
- The rainy-season crop is of poorer quality
- The report shows a slim benefit-cost ratio of 1.1
- Sale is mostly through village agents and commission agents
Skills you need
- Pruning and crop regulation for the winter crop
- Drip irrigation and fertigation
- Careful picking and packing of delicate fruit
- Selling quickly after harvest
Why difficulty 2/5: A hardy, early-bearing tree; the hard part is selling a delicate fruit quickly.
§3Market
Who buys
- Village trade agents and mandi commission agents
- Fruit retailers in nearby towns
- Jam, jelly and nectar makers
How it sells
- Sale through trade agents at village level
- Sale through commission agents at the market
- Boxes with padding by truck to distant markets
Good to know
- Shelf life can be stretched to 20 days at 5°C and 75–85% relative humidity, says the report.
- Farmers often reduce the monsoon crop to get a better price for the winter crop.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Tube well with submersible pump | — | ₹40,000 |
| Drip irrigation system with fertigation equipment | for 1 acre | ₹20,000 |
| Pump house and labour shed | — | ₹10,000 |
| Farm implements | — | ₹1,000 |
| Fencing | — | ₹29,500 |
From: National Horticulture Board model bankable project — Guava
- Planting material — budded or layered guava plants110 plants an acre at 6 m x 6 m
- Manures and fertilisersfirst-year provision in the model
- Insecticides and pesticidesfirst-year provision in the model
From: National Horticulture Board model bankable project — Guava
§5Licences & registration
- No licence is needed to grow fruit on your own or leased farm land
- Land ownership or registered lease papers (banks and subsidy offices ask for them)
- Permission for a new borewell where the state groundwater authority requires it
- For export: Import Export Code, APEDA registration and a phytosanitary certificate
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 assumes the farmer puts in ₹62,500, a capital subsidy of ₹25,000 and a bank term loan of ₹37,500 at 12% interest on the ₹1,25,000 cost. Today NHB's open-field scheme is for orchards above 2 hectares, leaves out land cost and needs a bank term loan; for a one-acre orchard ask the district horticulture office about state schemes.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: One-acre model; the cost of land is not included. Cultivation expenses ₹20,500 (planting material ₹2,200, manures and fertilisers ₹5,000, insecticides and pesticides ₹2,000, labour ₹7,700, power ₹3,600) + irrigation ₹40,000 (tube well with submersible pump ₹40,000) + drip irrigation system ₹20,000 + infrastructure ₹11,000 (pump house and labour shed ₹10,000, farm implements ₹1,000) + land development ₹33,500 (land levelling ₹4,000, fencing ₹29,500) = ₹1,25,000.
Working capital: Development and running cost for the acre: ₹21,000 in year 1, ₹25,500 in year 2, ₹30,000 in year 3, ₹32,100 in year 4, ₹24,900 in years 5 and 6, ₹25,900 in year 7 and ₹27,000 from year 8.
Year not printed on the report. It costs labour at ₹70 a man-day, so these are old prices — planting material, labour, borewell and drip costs are much higher now.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: APEDA
- The report lists USA, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, Kuwait and Jordan as buyers of Indian guava.
- In 2001-02 Saudi Arabia took 179.59 tonnes and the Netherlands 150.00 tonnes.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Severe frost killing young plants
- Water-logging
- Rain at harvest spoiling fruit quality
- Fruit rotting before it reaches the market
§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 guava orchard 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 fruit on your own or leased farm land, Land ownership or registered lease papers (banks and subsidy offices ask for them)), 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 Guava Orchard?
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.