Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday virtually inaugurated the expanded Banas Dairy potato processing plant at Sanadar, increasing its French fries production capacity from 2 to 5 tonnes per hour.
Located in Deodar taluka of Banaskantha district, the expanded facility involved an investment of ₹51.65 crore (approximately USD 5.5–6 million). Modi inaugurated the facility remotely from Bhildi, where he addressed farmers on the first day of his two-day visit to Gujarat.
He said the increased processing capacity would enable Banas Dairy to procure more potatoes from local growers. During his address, he also described Banaskantha’s potatoes as “world-famous today”.
From Seed Production to French Fries: Banas Dairy’s Integrated Model
Banas Dairy, formally the Banaskantha District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union, is a farmer-owned cooperative within India’s Amul network. Best known for milk, it has moved into potato seed, storage and processing. Construction of its French fries plant began in 2020; the plant was dedicated in April 2022, and work on the current expansion started in April 2026.
The cooperative runs an integrated supply chain covering tissue-culture laboratories, seed potato multiplication, contract farming, cold storage and processing. It added a 10,000-tonne cold store in 2024 and, in November 2025, signed an agreement with Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Ltd, India’s national seed cooperative, to strengthen certified seed supply.
Banas Dairy says it is the only cooperative in India running such an end-to-end potato system and that it turns processing waste into biogas. Controlling seed helps a fries processor manage tuber length, dry matter and sugar levels, which determine fry quality.
What the Expansion Means for Potato Growers
According to details released ahead of the inauguration, Banas Dairy fixes the purchase price when it supplies seed to farmers before planting. Its reported procurement price rose from ₹13 in 2024-25 to ₹14 in 2025-26, and it distributed about ₹1.83 crore to growers as a price difference for 2023-24.
The larger plant could raise demand for processing-grade potatoes in Banaskantha and nearby districts. Banas Dairy has not yet announced new targets for contracted farmers, acreage or procurement volumes.
Why Banaskantha matters
Modi’s remarks reflect the district’s scale. Banaskantha is Gujarat’s largest potato-producing district: according to the Gujarat government, it produced about 1.87 million tonnes from 61,016 hectares in 2024-25, up from 1.56 million tonnes from 52,089 hectares a year earlier. That is a little over 3% of India’s 2024-25 potato crop of 58.57 million tonnes.
Farmers in North Gujarat grow processing varieties such as Lady Rosetta, Kufri Chipsona and Santana. The region is already a French fries hub, with McCain Foods and HyFun Foods operating plants in the neighbouring Mehsana district.
Support for potato growers and infrastructure
At the same event, Modi marked the start of work on 12 approved horticulture clusters covering about 146,000 hectares across India. Two of them, in North Gujarat, will support potato farmers in Banaskantha and Sabarkantha. He also dedicated 521 completed Agriculture Infrastructure Fund projects worth about ₹4,950 crore, including cold stores and food processing units.
Implications for India’s potato processing industry
The expansion lifts Banas Dairy’s installed fries capacity by 150%, but no output or utilisation figures have been published. Running the line at higher volumes will need more contracted acreage, certified seed and cold storage and may increase competition among processors for growers in North Gujarat.
Exports are a possible next step. After the inauguration, Modi shared photos of the plant with the line “Farm to Factory to Fries. Made in India. Served to the World.” India shipped 277,108.51 tonnes of value-added potato products worth USD 289.40 million in 2025-26, according to APEDA, India’s farm export agency, and Banaskantha is within reach of the ports of Kandla and Mundra. However, Banas Dairy has not announced export targets, markets or supply agreements for the expanded plant.
News Courtesy : potato pro