Archive · 1 Dec 2025
India Considers Quality Control on Food Processing Machines
India is thinking about making new rules for food processing machines.
Right now, many machines come from China and sometimes they break or aren't safe.
The government wants to make sure all machines meet certain standards to keep food safe and make the machines work better.
This could help India make its own machines instead of buying so many from China.
But it might also make machines more expensive for small businesses.
The government is still talking about these rules and hasn't made a final decision yet.
India is considering implementing Quality Control Orders (QCOs) on food processing machines to curb substandard imports, primarily from China.
China accounts for 41% of India's $843 million worth of food-processing equipment imports, raising concerns over frequent breakdowns and safety risks.
The proposed QCOs aim to mandate minimum safety, hygiene, and performance requirements based on Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms.
The move could reshape supply chains, raise certification costs, and impact small and medium food-processing units heavily reliant on low-cost Chinese machinery.
India's food-processing market is projected to grow from ₹30.50 trillion ($367.5 billion) in 2024 to ₹45.84 trillion ($552.29 billion) by FY26.
- Who
- Indian government (food processing and consumer affairs ministries)
- What
- Considering implementing Quality Control Orders (QCOs) on food processing machines
- When
- Currently in discussion stage
- Where
- India
- Why
- To curb inflow of substandard imported machinery, improve safety, hygiene, and performance standards
- India's food-processing market size
- ₹30.50 trillion ($367.5 billion) in 2024
- Projected market size by FY26
- ₹45.84 trillion ($552.29 billion)
- China's share in food-processing machinery imports
- 41%
- India's import dependency for food-processing machinery
- 17.5%
- India's agriculture exports in FY25
- ₹4.2 lakh crore ($51 billion)
- India's agriculture imports in FY25
- ₹3.1 lakh crore ($37 billion)
- Share of processed food in India's agri-food exports (FY24)
- 23.4%
