India wants to become a major player in the French fries market

With an annual potato production of over 50 million tons, India is the second largest potato producer in the world. Together with the world's number 1, China, it accounts for 38% of global potato production. About 30% of India's potato production takes place in northern Uttar Pradesh, making it the largest potato producing state in the country. Bengal and Bihal are in second and third place with 26% and about 12% of the total production respectively.

The country now wants to use part of this potato mountain to become a major player in the global French fries market. To achieve that goal, a new processing plant will be built in Banaskantha (North Gujarat), an important hub for potato growers in India. Although Gujarat represents only 10% of India's total potato production, the area accounts for 27% of potato exports. In addition, the quality of production in this state is above average.

Banas Dairy, which claims to be one of the largest dairy producers in Asia, is the initiator of the project, which will cost more than €11,5 million. The factory will have an annual processing capacity of 50.000 tons of potatoes and will mainly focus on the production of French fries for the domestic and international markets in Southeast Asia. Banas Dairy wants to compete with McCain Foods India and Hyfun Foods, which are already very active in this region.

According to Kamraj Chaudhary, the general manager of Banas Dairy, the aim is to start production in October 2021. The first civil works (such as preparing the land for construction and laying paving) have now started. Striking detail: the machines for the new factory are imported from the Netherlands. Banas Dairy is supported by the Indian government, which offers a subsidy of just under €250.000 to set up the processing plant.

Responding to demand for fries
According to Chaudhary, potato products, including French fries, are in high demand worldwide. India mainly exports to Mauritius, Malaysia and Singapore. In 2019, India exported €25,1 million worth of frozen potato products, putting the country in 14th place in the top 15 of countries with the highest export value. This concerns a quantity of approximately 30.000 tons.

For comparison: the Netherlands exported €1,9 billion worth of frozen potato products in the same year and was in 2nd place (after Belgium, with €2,1 billion). Although this difference seems enormous, India is one of the fastest growing countries when it comes to the export of frozen potato products. In the 2015 season, the above export value was 228% lower (by only 5.000 tons) and in 2007 even 6.000 tons were imported.

Banas Dairy currently processes potatoes in a rented unit. For every kilo of fries it takes 2 kilos of potatoes. The fries of approximately 9 millimeters are currently also often exported, but the smaller fries (of about 6 millimeters) are only sold on the domestic market. Since the company does not have its own processing plant, there are some concerns from the trade about quality, Chaudhary notes. This is at the expense of exports. The new processing plant should change this. "With our own factory, we can also involve more farmers through contract cultivation," says the director.