SBI to aid 7,500 food processing units

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Food Processing Society (APFPS) and the State Bank of India (SBI) have entered into an agreement on Tuesday to upgrade and support the establishment of at least 7,500 micro food processing units in the state. This agreement will be executed in the ongoing 2023-24 fiscal under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme. “This partnership with a financial powerhouse like SBI will provide a significant boost to micro food processing enterprises in the state,” said APFPS Chief Executive Sridhar Reddy.

He said that the maximum number of units will be covered. As part of this deal, SBI will offer collateral-free loans of up to Rs 10 lakh to eligible beneficiaries, following the guidelines of the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) under the Agri Infrastructure Fund. SBI has already sanctioned over 500 loans under the PMFME scheme in the previous fiscal, emerging as a major lending partner in this endeavour. It has also agreed to support promotion of food processing units through this collaboration with farmer producer organisations (FPO). Besides loans, the banking behemoth will provide necessary working capital loans for successful operation of supported enterprises. Streamlined loan processing with minimum documentation and processing time, attractive interest rates and others are some more benefits under this agreement.