What is a groundnut oil project report?
A groundnut oil project report is a detailed project report (DPR) for a mill that shells groundnuts, presses the kernels in screw expellers and filters the oil. It sets out the process, machinery, kernel buying, market, project cost, means of finance, five-year projections, DSCR and break-even that a lender reviews.
Entrepreneurs use it to size a mill and apply for a term loan or PMEGP support; bankers use it to judge whether oil and cake sales can repay the loan.
Also known as: groundnut oil mill project report, peanut oil project report, DPR for groundnut oil extraction, groundnut oil business plan.
What a bank checks in a groundnut oil project report
An oil mill turns a costly raw material into oil on a thin margin, so lenders look hard at a few ratios. These are the values in our sample report, which sells ₹824.25 lakh of oil and keeps ₹46.64 lakh as net profit in Year 3.
Groundnut kernels make up 96% of this. A small rise in kernel price, or a small fall in oil recovery, wipes out much of the 5.7% net margin.
The debt service coverage ratio shows how many times cash earnings cover loan instalments. The sample's lowest year is 1.47, in Year 2.
The mill covers all costs, including interest and depreciation, at 42.1% of capacity, against the 70% it plans to run that year.
Together with 20 days of credit to buyers, this sets the ₹63.04 lakh cash credit limit. Mills that stock up at harvest need more.
Values are the assumptions in our illustrative sample. Your report uses figures for your capacity, kernel source and market.
Groundnut oil manufacturing plant cost in India
The number of expellers and the daily oil output set the cost. The largest tier is the mill in our sample report; the two smaller tiers are indicative ranges.
Small ghani or expeller unit
₹25–60 lakh
About 300–700 kg of oil per day
- Machinery₹10–25 lakh
- Shed and fit-out (or rent)₹8–20 lakh
- Working capital margin₹5–12 lakh
Can fit PMEGP or PMFME, subject to limits
Mid-size mill
₹1–1.6 crore
About 1,000–1,500 kg of oil per day
- Machinery₹45–75 lakh
- Land and building₹35–60 lakh
- Working capital margin₹10–18 lakh
MSME term loan, often with CGTMSE cover
Larger expeller mill
₹234 lakh
2,500 kg per day, 7,50,000 kg per year
- Plant and machinery₹104.29 lakh
- Land and building₹85.19 lakh
- Working capital margin₹21.02 lakh
Term loan ₹175.30 lakh (75%), promoter ₹58.43 lakh
Small and mid-size ranges are indicative and exclude land unless stated. Costs vary with location, expeller make and how much is automated.
Groundnut oil manufacturing process
An expeller mill makes filtered groundnut oil in six stages. Mills that buy shelled kernels skip decortication, while a mill that also refines adds neutralising, bleaching and deodorising after filtration.
- Cleaning and grading
A pre-cleaner and destoner remove soil, stones and iron, and shrivelled or mouldy nuts are picked out because they carry aflatoxin risk.
- Decortication
The decorticator cracks the pods and blows away the shells, which hold no oil and are often sold as boiler fuel.
- Conditioning
Kernels are heated with moisture in a steam kettle so the oil cells open. Hotter roasting gives a strong nutty flavour; cold pressing at about 60–70°C keeps more nutrients.
- Expelling
Screw expellers squeeze the conditioned kernels into crude oil and groundnut oil cake, and the cake's residual oil shows how well the press is set.
- Settling and filtration
Crude oil rests in settling tanks, then passes through a filter press; the sludge, called foots, goes back to the expeller.
- Packing and dispatch
Clear oil is filled in 15 kg tins, jars and pouches, and the cake is bagged for cattle feed makers.
Groundnut kernels, oil yield and raw material cost
Kernels contain about 45–55% oil, and a well-set expeller line typically recovers around 40–44% of kernel weight as oil (indicative). Kernel prices track the groundnut crop: the minimum support price for groundnut was ₹7,263 per quintal for kharif 2025-26, so mills buy most heavily at harvest.
| Raw material | Share of cost | Year 3 (₹ lakh) |
|---|---|---|
| Groundnut kernels | 96% | 555.25 |
| Filter aids and consumables | 4% | 23.14 |
| Total | 100% | 578.39 |
The sample counts oil sales only and leaves oil cake income out, which keeps it conservative. A report for your mill should show cake as by-product income.
Groundnut oil mill machinery and cost
| Machine | What it does | Sample cost (₹ lakh) |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-cleaner and destoner | Removes dust, stones and metal | 6.26 |
| Groundnut decorticator | Shells pods and separates kernels | 8.34 |
| Steam kettle cooker | Heats and moistens kernels before pressing | 10.43 |
| Screw oil expellers | Press kernels into oil and cake | 41.72 |
| Filter press | Clears crude oil to filtered oil | 12.51 |
| Oil settling and storage tanks | Settle crude oil and hold stock | 8.34 |
| Tin and pouch filling machine | Fills tins, jars and pouches by weight | 10.43 |
| Conveyors and bucket elevators | Move kernels and cake between machines | 6.26 |
| Total plant and machinery | 104.29 | |
Costs are the sample report's estimates for a 2,500 kg per day mill. Get current quotations, including expeller capacity in kernels per day, before you finalise.
Market for groundnut oil and who buys it
Groundnut oil is the everyday cooking oil in much of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Households and sweet shops value its flavour and its tolerance for deep frying. Local mills sell fresh filtered oil within a few districts, mostly in 15 kg tins to dealers and in pouches to shops. Wood-pressed and cold-pressed groundnut oil sells at a premium in cities.
- Edible oil distributors and wholesalers
- Kirana and retail stores
- Sweet shops, namkeen and snack makers
- Hotels, restaurants and caterers
- Refiners buying filtered oil
- Cattle feed makers buying oil cake
Where a new mill wins: a mill sited in a growing district buys kernels with less freight and sells cake to nearby dairies, two savings a distant packer cannot match.
Licences and approvals for a groundnut oil mill
Edible oil is regulated both as a food and as an essential commodity, so a groundnut oil mill needs more than the usual factory approvals. Rules as checked in October 2026:
| FSSAI licence | Vegetable oil and oil expeller units with installed capacity above 2 MT per day need a central licence; smaller units apply to the state licensing authority |
|---|---|
| In-house laboratory | FSSAI licensing conditions require a vegetable oil producer to have its own laboratory for analytical testing |
| Product standard | FSSAI standard for groundnut oil: acid value not more than 6.0, iodine value 85–99, saponification value 188–196, argemone oil test negative |
| VOPPA registration | Registration under the Vegetable Oil Products Production and Availability (Regulation) Order and monthly production and stock returns; the October 2025 amendment made this mandatory for all edible oil manufacturers, processors and re-packers |
| Pollution board consent | "Oil mill ghani and extraction (no hydrogenation or refining)" is in the green category; consent to establish and operate comes from the State Pollution Control Board, and adding a refinery changes the category |
| Business registration | Udyam (MSME) registration and GST registration |
Loans and schemes for a groundnut oil unit
PMEGP
Manufacturing projects up to ₹50 lakhMargin-money subsidy of 15–35% of project cost depending on category and urban or rural location; the promoter brings 5–10%. Suits a small expeller unit.
PMFME
35% subsidy, up to ₹10 lakh per unitCredit-linked subsidy for micro food processing units, with at least 10% from the promoter. The scheme period was 2020-21 to 2025-26, so confirm it is open before you apply.
MSME term loan with CGTMSE
Guarantee cover up to ₹10 croreCollateral-free cover for eligible micro and small units, the usual route for a loan the size of the sample's ₹175.30 lakh.
Scheme limits change. Confirm current terms with the bank or the scheme portal before applying.
Mistakes that weaken a project report on groundnut oil
- Pricing oil by the litre at retail
Mills sell by weight at ex-factory rates, often in 15 kg tins. One litre of groundnut oil weighs only about 0.91 kg, so litre-based retail prices inflate sales.
- Taking oil recovery from a machine brochure
Recovery depends on kernel variety, moisture and conditioning. A report that assumes the best case overstates oil output on every tonne crushed.
- No funding for harvest-season buying
Kernels are cheapest after the kharif harvest. A mill that stocks up then needs a larger cash credit limit than a month of stock allows.
- Getting oil cake wrong
Leaving cake out understates income; pricing it like solvent-extracted meal overstates it. Cake from an expeller still holds some oil and sells at its own rate.
- Missing the laboratory and VOPPA filings
Without a testing lab and VOPPA registration, the FSSAI licence and monthly returns stall, and so does the bank's disbursement checklist.
How NPCS helps you set up a groundnut oil mill
- Capacity and kernel planSize the expellers to the kernels you can buy locally and plan harvest-season stocking.
- Machinery and suppliersCompare expeller, filter press and filling machine options and get quotations.
- Bank-ready project reportProjections, DSCR and working capital with oil cake income shown the way lenders expect.
- Approvals and layoutPlant layout, lab set-up and the FSSAI, VOPPA and pollution approvals for your state.
NPCS, led by founder Ajay Kumar Gupta, has prepared project reports since 1994. Its client list includes 17 edible oil assignments, among them a groundnut oil production and refining study.
What's inside the groundnut oil sample report
- Introduction
- Uses and applications
- Market potential
- Manufacturing process
- Raw materials
- Plant and machinery
- Land, building and utilities
- Manpower
- Licences and approvals
- Project cost and means of finance
- Working capital
- Projected profitability
- Cash flow statement
- Projected balance sheet
- Depreciation
- Term loan repayment
- Debt service coverage
- Break-even analysis
- Financial ratios
- Key assumptions
- Conclusion
- Monthly loan repayment schedule
18 pages, five-year projections, illustrative figures.
Open sample reportFree sample or a report for your project?
| What you get | Free sample | NPCS report for your project |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity and location | Typical unit | Your capacity, site and state |
| Figures | Illustrative | Built on current prices and quotations |
| Machinery suppliers and quotations | No | Yes |
| Market survey for your region | No | Yes |
| Bank or scheme format (PMEGP, term loan) | No | Yes |
| Use for a loan application | No | Yes |
Real NPCS groundnut oil project reports
These are groundnut oil project reports NPCS has prepared, with the plant capacity, total capital investment, rate of return and break-even worked out in each. Costs have moved since some were written, so we bring any of them up to date for your capacity and location.
| Project report | Plant capacity | Total investment | Rate of return | Break-even | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refined Oils (COTTONSEED OIL, Groundnut OIL & Sunflower OIL) | On request | ₹5.63 crore | 45% | 37% | Get this report |
| Groundnut Oil | Groundnut Oil (1 Ltr Pack each): 35,178 Packs / Day Groundnut Oil (5 Ltrs Pack each): 3,015 Packs / Day Groundut Cake (100 Kgs Bag each): 63… | ₹8.38 crore | 30% | 65% | Get this report |
| Edible Oil Refinery (Sunflower Oil, Groundnut Oil & Rice Bran Oil) | Sunflower Oil : 5,000,000 Kgs/Annum Groundnut Oil : 5,000,000 Kgs/Annum Rice Bran Oil: 5,000,000 Kgs/Annum | ₹17.18 crore | 27% | 57% | Get this report |
| Groundnut Oil Production and Refining | Groundnut Oil (1 Ltr Bottle each):20,000 Packs / day Groundnut Cake (25 Kgs each):1,140 Packs / day | ₹17.6 crore | 35% | 44% | Get this report |
Figures as worked out in each NPCS report. Total investment includes plant and machinery, land and building, and working capital.
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Groundnut Oil project report: frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to start a groundnut oil mill?
A small ghani or single-expeller unit needs roughly ₹25–60 lakh, and a mid-size mill of 1,000–1,500 kg oil per day about ₹1–1.6 crore. Our sample report models a 2,500 kg per day unit at ₹234 lakh, including land, building and working capital margin. The smaller figures are indicative; your own report prices the mill for your capacity and location.
How much oil do you get from 1 kg of groundnut?
Groundnut kernels contain about 45–55% oil, and a well-run screw expeller line usually recovers around 40–44% of kernel weight as oil, so 1 kg of kernels gives roughly 400–440 grams. The rest leaves as oil cake with some oil still in it. Recovery from in-shell pods is lower because the shells carry no oil. These are indicative figures.
Which machines are needed for groundnut oil production?
You need a pre-cleaner and destoner, a decorticator, a steam kettle and screw oil expellers. After them come a filter press, settling and storage tanks, a tin and pouch filling machine, and conveyors. In our sample the expellers cost ₹41.72 lakh, the largest share of the ₹104.29 lakh machinery cost.
Is groundnut oil business profitable?
In our illustrative sample, a 2,500 kg per day mill makes a net profit of ₹46.64 lakh on sales of ₹824.25 lakh in Year 3. It earns a 20% return on investment and breaks even at 42% of capacity. Margins are thin because kernels are about 70% of sales, so real profit depends on buying kernels well, oil recovery and selling the cake.
Which licence is needed for groundnut oil manufacturing?
You need an FSSAI licence: oil expeller units with installed capacity above 2 MT per day go to the central licensing authority and smaller units to the state. You also register under the Vegetable Oil Products Production and Availability (Regulation) Order and file monthly returns, take pollution board consent, and get Udyam and GST registration.
Groundnut oil ka business kaise shuru kare?
Start by choosing the scale: a small ghani or expeller unit for local sale, or a larger mill selling tins to dealers. Fix a site near groundnut-growing areas, get FSSAI and VOPPA registration, buy machines after comparing quotations, and prepare a project report for the bank loan. Plan kernel buying around the harvest, because kernels are the biggest cost.
Is the sample groundnut oil project report PDF free, and can I use it for a loan?
The sample is free to view and download. It is an illustrative report that shows the format and depth of an NPCS report. Its figures are representative and not based on a real project, so it should not be submitted to a bank. For a loan, NPCS prepares a report for your own capacity, location and loan scheme.
Sources and references
- Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, compendiumFood Safety and Standards Authority of India, checked Oct 2026
- Food product standards: fats, oils and fat emulsions (chapter 2.2)Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, checked Oct 2026
- Vegetable Oil Products Production and Availability (Regulation) Order, 2011Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India, checked Oct 2026
- Govt amends VOPPA Order to tighten edible oil regulations (22 October 2025)All India Radio News, checked Oct 2026
- Green category industries listOdisha State Pollution Control Board, checked Oct 2026
- Peanut oil processingNIFTEM, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, checked Oct 2026
- MSP statement (as on 12 December 2025)Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, checked Oct 2026
- Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)Himachal Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board, checked Oct 2026
- PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme notePress Information Bureau, Government of India, checked Oct 2026
- Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small EnterprisesCGTMSE, checked Oct 2026
The NPCS project team, led by Ajay Kumar Gupta
This page and its sample report are prepared and reviewed by the NPCS project team, which has written techno-economic feasibility studies and detailed project reports since 1994.
Ajay Kumar Gupta founded Niir Project Consultancy Services (NPCS) and leads the organisation. With 40 years of experience in MSME project consulting, he has built the team that has delivered more than 28,000 project reports for clients worldwide, helping entrepreneurs plan and finance profitable manufacturing businesses.
- Published
- Last updated
- Next review
- Oct 2027
- Reviewed by
- NPCS project team
This page is reviewed every 12 months, or sooner when scheme limits, GST rates, BIS rules or pollution categories change. The sample report is illustrative: its figures are generated from industry-typical ratios for a unit of this size, checked so every statement balances, and are not taken from any client project.