§1What this business is
Cane is crushed, the juice is filtered, heated in steam-jacketed tanks and thickened in an evaporator and concentrator pans. The thick mass is granulated, dried in a tray dryer and packed on a form-fill-seal machine. Unlike gur blocks, the powder pours like sugar and keeps longer. The model plant makes 120 tonnes a year from cane at ₹3 a kg and sells powder at ₹80 a kg.
Capacity: 120 tonnes of jaggery powder a year, 300 days of 8–10 hours; 70% use in year 2, 80% in year 3 and 90% from year 4.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A cane grower, gur maker or FPO in a sugarcane belt who wants a packed, branded product.
Who it is not for
Someone far from cane fields — cane loses sugar within a day or two of cutting.
Advantages
- Powder sells at a better price than gur blocks and suits packed retail
- Cane is cheap at the farm gate — ₹3 a kg in the report
- Buyers are moving from white sugar to jaggery for tea and sweets
Drawbacks
- Cane is available only in the crushing season, though the report counts 300 days
- Boiler, evaporator and dryer use a lot of fuel
- Powder cakes and loses colour if it takes in moisture
Skills you need
- Judging cane quality and juice clarity
- Boiling to the right striking point
- Granulating and drying
- Retail packing and brand selling
Why difficulty 3/5: More machines than a village gur unit, and a short cane season to earn the year's income.
§3Market
Who buys
- Households
- Sweet makers, bakeries and tea stalls
- Ayurvedic and health-food brands
How it sells
- Kirana shops and supermarkets
- Wholesalers and distributors
- Online and organic stores
Good to know
- The report takes the selling price at ₹80 a kg.
- Projected sales ₹61.60 L in year 2 rising to ₹86.40 L.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Cane crusher (1.5 tonnes/hr, 10 HP) | 1 | ₹1.50 lakh |
| Collecting tank (1,000 litre) | 4 | ₹1.00 lakh |
| Filtration system with pump (500 litres/hr) | 1 | ₹0.50 lakh |
| Steam-jacketed tank (1,000 litre) | 2 | ₹1.50 lakh |
| Double-effect evaporator | 1 | ₹6.00 lakh |
| Concentrator pan with churner | 2 | ₹1.00 lakh |
| Jaggery granulator (2 HP) | 1 | ₹3.00 lakh |
| Tray dryer (100 kg, 8 HP) | 1 | ₹2.00 lakh |
| Form-fill-seal machine (100 kg/hr) | 1 | ₹2.00 lakh |
| Boiler | 1 | ₹3.00 lakh |
From: NIFTEM-Thanjavur (IIFPT) PMFME model DPR — Jaggery Powder
- Sugarcane2.8 tonnes a day at 70% capacity, ₹3 a kg; crush soon after cutting
- Pouches and packing material₹10 a unit in the report
From: NIFTEM-Thanjavur (IIFPT) PMFME model DPR — Jaggery Powder
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- FSSAI licence
- Boiler registration where the boiler size needs it
- Consent from the State Pollution Control Board
Start it in your state
Pick your state: today’s cost, central + state subsidy, raw material, land and help, on one page.
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMFMECentralUnclear35% subsidy, up to ₹10 lakh
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
Written as a PMFME model; the report's finance plan is subsidy ₹10.00 L, own money ₹8.80 L and term loan ₹14.00 L. The project is within PMEGP's ₹50 L manufacturing ceiling.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Land and building ₹2.00 L + plant and machinery ₹21.50 L + utilities ₹2.00 L + other fixed assets ₹2.00 L + pre-operative ₹0.25 L + contingencies ₹2.00 L + working capital margin ₹2.97 L; the report prints the total as ₹32.80 L.
Working capital: Working capital gap ₹11.89 L in year 2 (30 days of cane and packing stock); margin ₹2.97 L is in the project cost.
Year not printed on the DPR (the PMFME scheme began in 2020) — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
Export council / board: APEDA
- Jaggery and confectionery is an APEDA export product group.
- HS code not checked against the DGFT ITC-HS list here — confirm the code before you ship.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Sugar mills paying more and drawing cane away
- Running far fewer days than the 300 assumed
- Moisture spoiling packed powder
- Use of banned clarifying chemicals leading to FSSAI action
§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 jaggery powder (granular gur) unit unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST registration), 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 Jaggery Powder (Granular Gur) Unit?
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.