Small scale industries make up a large part of Kashmir’s economy. These units manufacture food products, beverages, machinery, plastic goods, chemicals, drugs, paper products, silk, brick and tiles, cement and automobile equipment.
Food and beverage
The food and beverage industry in J & K consists of high level of market segment, huge variety of products, huge number of companies and many other characteristics. The food and beverage industry represents a diverse set of products and processes: fresh, frozen, chilled, and long shelf-life food and beverage products are manufactured, distributed, imported, and marketed to consumers, retailers, catering services, and other manufacturers. Food and beverage manufacturing facilities use large amounts of energy for cooking, cooling, freezing, and cold storage and transport. The manufacture & export of food & beverage in Kashmir has been constantly increasing since past few years. Food & beverage industry has become a big factor and has been constantly adding to the revenues of the state.
Sericulture
The technique of silk production, is an agro-industry, playing an eminent role in the rural economy of India. Silk-fibre is a protein produced from the silk-glands of silkworms. Mulberry silk is produced extensively in the very few of states of country, the Seri culturists to harvest five to six crops a year. Jammu and Kashmir, owing to its salubrious climate during autumn and spring, is producing silk by rearing univoltine silkworms. The cost of producing mulberry has a direct impact on the cost of producing cocoons, as nearly 605 of the total cost of production of cocoons goes to the production of mulberry leaves.
Chemicals
Chemicals are used to make a wide variety of consumer goods, as well as thousands inputs to agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and service industries. The chemical industry itself consumes 26 percent of its own output.[citation needed] Major industrial customers include rubber and plastic products, textiles, apparel, petroleum refining, pulp and paper, and primary metals.
Paper products
Some of the paper products are sheet paper, paper boxes, tissues, paper bags, stationery, envelopes, and printed-paper products such as books, periodicals, and newspapers. Specialty papers like sandpaper, blueprint paper, carbon paper are not a part of paper products industry.
The stationery category includes greeting cards, printing and writing papers, school and office papers, etc. The toiletry products include paper towels, tissue paper, and bath tissue.
Growth for paper industry in J & K looks extremely positive as the demand for upstream market of paper products, like, tissue paper, tea bags, filter paper, light weight online coated paper, medical grade coated paper, etc., is growing up.
Bee Farming
In order to maximize agricultural production, honeybee can be used as an important input. About 85 per cent crop plants are cross-pollinated, as they need to receive pollen from other plants of the same species with the help of external agents. One of the most important external agents is the honeybee. A few colonies of honeybees are placed in the field when the crop is in flowering stage. When pressed in to service they would make several thousand forages for pollination. The abundance of pollinators helps in early setting of seeds resulting in early and more uniform crop yield. Honeybees also produce honey, bee wax and royal jelly thus giving additional benefits to the farmers.
