Agro Based Industry - Concepts - Chapter 6 Class 10 Geography - Manufacturing Industries - Geography

Last updated at July 13, 2026 by Teachoo

Agro-based Industries

Industries that are based on agricultural raw materials like cotton , jute , silk , woollen textiles , sugar and edible oil , etc.

The textile industry contributes significantly to industrial production , employment generation and foreign exchange earnings .
It is self-reliant and complete in the value chain i.e., from raw material to the highest value-added products.
The first successful textile mill was established in Mumbai in 1854.

In ancient India, cotton textiles were produced with hand spinning and handloom weaving techniques .
After the 18th century , power looms came into use.
Our traditional industries suffered a setback during the colonial period because they could not compete with the mill-made cloth from England .
In the early years, the cotton textile industry was concentrated in Maharashtra and Gujarat because of the availability of raw cotton , market , transport including accessible port facilities , labour , moist climate , etc. This industry has close links with agriculture and provides a living to

The industry by creating demands supports many other industries , such as chemicals and dyes , packaging materials and engineering works.
While spinning continues to be in Maharashtra , Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, weaving is highly decentralised to provide scope for incorporating traditional skills and designs of weaving in cotton, silk, zari, embroidery , etc.
India has world-class production in spinning , but weaving supplies low-quality fabric as it cannot use much of the high-quality yarn produced in the country. Weaving is done by handloom, power loom and in mills.
The handspun khadi provides large-scale employment to weavers in their homes as a cottage industry .

India is the largest producer of raw jute and jute goods and stands in second place as an exporter after Bangladesh . Most of the mills are located in West Bengal , mainly along the banks of the Hugli river .
Factors responsible for their location in the Hugli basin are:
- the proximity of the jute-producing areas
inexpensive water transport
- supported by a good network of railways , roadways and waterways to facilitate the movement of raw materials to the mills
- abundant water for processing raw jute , cheap labour from West Bengal and adjoining states of Bihar , Odisha and Uttar Pradesh .
- Kolkata as a large urban centre provides banking , insurance and port facilities for the export of jute goods .

The raw material used in this industry is bulky , and in haulage its sucrose content reduces.
India stands second as a world producer of sugar but occupies first place in the production of gur and khandsari .
Sixty per cent of the sugar mills are mainly located in Uttar Pradesh , and Bihar rests in Punjab , Maharashtra , Karnataka , Tamil Nadu , Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh.
This industry is seasonal so it is ideally suited to the cooperative sector.
In recent years, mills are shifting in the southern and western parts , especially in Maharashtra because of the higher sucrose content in cane and a cooler climate . Moreover, the cooperatives are more successful in these states.