Improving the profitability of India’s rice-milling industry will be a key focus at the Bharat International Rice Conference (BIRC) 2026, as millers and investors look to extract greater value from an annual rice crop with an indicative wholesale value of around ₹6 lakh crore.
BIRC 2026, scheduled for October 23-25 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, will hold a dedicated session on ‘Profitable Rice Milling: Costs, Planning and Margin Improvement’ on October 24.
The session will examine the economics of rice milling across plant design, processing technology, recovery rates, capacity utilisation, operating costs and financing, according to the organisers.
It will compare raw-rice milling, steam-rice processing, white and golden parboiling and traditional Bhatti processing. The analysis will also map differences in conditioning, drying and milling requirements across these processing routes.
A 2026-27 model rice-mill setup cost will be presented, covering land and civil works, machinery, storage, drying and treatment systems, boilers, utilities, effluent management, packaging, laboratory facilities and installation.
The assessment will separately examine fixed investment, seasonal working capital and overall funding requirements, allowing prospective investors and existing millers to compare projects on a common basis.
Focus on recovery and utilization
The conference will also examine operating costs, plant bottlenecks, milling yield, recovery rates, quality control and the realisation of by-products. A proposed ‘Margin Dashboard’ will track indicators such as capacity utilisation, recovery, energy costs, downtime, by-product income, contribution per tonne and funding requirements.
India had around 30,000 operational rice mills as of April 2024, according to a snapshot from the Department of Food and Public Distribution. BIRC 2026 will review available data on mill numbers, installed capacity, utilisation, technology mix and regional concentration across India and selected international markets.
The assessment will identify areas where paddy availability exceeds effective processing capacity and where shortages in drying, storage, grading or buyer-specific finishing may be limiting value creation.
The conference will also distinguish between regions where setting up new mills could be commercially viable and those where upgrading existing facilities may offer better returns.
Technology investment under scrutiny
Technology discussions will cover controlled drying and tempering, automated husking and whitening, optical sorting, in-line quality monitoring and improved process controls.
Rather than promoting technology investment simply to increase capacity, the conference will assess whether individual technologies can address specific operational problems and deliver adequate returns relative to capital costs and existing plant performance.
Even small improvements in milling recovery can have a significant impact on profitability. For example, a mill processing 30,000 tonnes of paddy annually could generate an additional 300 tonnes of head rice from a one-percentage-point improvement in the conversion of broken rice into whole grains.
At an assumed price difference of ₹20 per kg, this could translate into additional annual sales value of about ₹60 lakh, before accounting for the cost of implementing the improvement.
“The opportunity is not simply to process more rice, but to retain more value from every tonne,” said Deepak Goyal, Vice President (Basmati), Indian Rice Exporters’ Federation (IREF), and Director of Mahavir Rice Mill, Karnal.
Goyal said the industry needs to identify where new milling capacity is genuinely required and where improvements in drying, recovery, technology or utilisation can deliver stronger returns from existing facilities.
By-products add to the margin equation
The role of rice bran, husk and broken rice in overall mill profitability will also be examined. The analysis will distinguish between external sales and internal use of by-products as fuel to avoid double-counting their contribution to mill economics.
The session is expected to produce two practical assessments — ‘2026 Model Rice Mill Set-up Cost’ and ‘2026 Milling Opportunity’ — aimed at helping businesses determine whether to invest in new capacity, expand, upgrade existing facilities or defer projects.
The assessments will take into account paddy availability, buyer requirements, utilities, recovery rates, plant utilisation and financing needs.
The broader focus of BIRC 2026 will be on shifting India’s rice-processing industry from a capacity-led approach towards value-led growth, with investment decisions increasingly based on processing economics, efficiency and the ability to improve returns from every tonne of paddy.