§1What this business is

Waste duplex paper (up to 30% old books and copies) is pulped with water in a pulper, held in a chest tank with an agitator, and pumped to a moulding machine fitted with egg-tray dies. The wet trays are dried on a long hot-air drying line, then counted and bundled. Changing the dies lets the same line make apple trays, wine trays and other moulded packaging.

Capacity: 1,400 trays an hour, 33,60,000 trays a year; each tray weighs 70 g; 60% use in year 1.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone near poultry clusters with land and a reliable power connection.

Who it is not for

Someone in a city with no land or far from poultry farms.

Advantages

  • Steady demand from poultry farms and egg traders
  • Waste paper is a cheap raw material
  • Recyclable product — favoured over plastic trays
  • Dies can be changed for fruit and other trays

Drawbacks

  • Needs a large plot (1 acre) and drying space
  • High power use (electricity ₹5.76 L in year 1)
  • Low price per tray (₹2.20)
  • Heavy machinery cost (₹23.60 L)

Skills you need

  • Pulping and moulding control
  • Drying-line management
  • Waste-paper buying
  • Selling to poultry farms and egg traders

Why difficulty 3/5: Machine-based and simple, but land, power and low prices need careful planning.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Poultry farms
  • Egg wholesalers and traders
  • Supermarkets selling packed eggs

How it sells

  • Direct supply to poultry farms
  • Egg traders and mandis

Good to know

  • Moulded trays protect eggs from shock, light and damp, cutting breakage (report).
  • Paper trays are recyclable, which helps them against plastic cartons (report).

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Pulper1—
Chest tank with agitator1—
Water tank1—
Moulding machine with dies1—
Trolleys1 lot—
Complete egg-tray machinery (report: ₹20.00 L machinery price, ₹23.60 L total)1 set₹23.60 lakh

From: PMEGP sample project report — Egg Tray (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

  • Waste duplex papermain raw material; ₹13 a kg in year 1
  • Old books and copies (rough paper)up to 30% of the mix

From: PMEGP sample project report — Egg Tray (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

In our raw material database

Paper pulp (wood, bamboo and agro pulp) →Waste paper (recovered paper) →

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam
  2. GST
  3. Fire and State Pollution Control Board registration as required (pulping water)
  4. Trademark for the brand if required

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMEGP and CGTMSE fit the ₹31.60–36.60 L project; MUDRA covers up to ₹20 L; Stand-Up India for SC/ST/women founders.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: project-at-a-glance ₹31.60 L (plant & machinery ₹23.60 L, office furniture ₹2.00 L, working capital ₹6.00 L); a second cost table adds building/civil work ₹5.00 L for ₹36.60 L.

Working capital: Working capital ₹6.00 L (bank limit ₹4.50 L).

Year not printed on the sample report — check current machinery prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export

4823.70Moulded or pressed articles of paper pulp

Export council / board: Not verified yet

  • HS codes are from the WCO HS 2022 list; confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker.
  • You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Power cuts and power cost
  • Waste-paper price swings
  • Rainy-season drying problems
  • Price competition from plastic trays

§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 paper pulp egg tray making 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, GST), 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

Not verified yet

Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect

§12Watch

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

Want to start Paper Pulp Egg Tray Making?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP sample project report — Egg Tray (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

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