Neemuch is known for Krishi Upaj Mandi (Agriculture Produce Market). This is main market for all the livelihood and another attraction is CRPF.
Neemuch was the birthplace of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in 1939 and is home to a large scale army recruitment centre for the organisation. The CRPF still maintains part of Neemuch’s British Military Cantonment, which was the first of its kind in India. The bungalow area, native troops area, bazaar, fields and gardens were maintained initially by the municipal board and later by the Municipal Council. After independence Neemuch City and the Baghana area were included in the municipal area. Neemuch is known as India’s Eye donation capital as it accounts for the highest per capita eye donation rate in the country’. Neemuch also has Asia’s biggest opium alkaloid processing plant which is a government-owned company named- Opium and Alkaloid Works. It is a road junction and distribution centre for agricultural products. Handloom weaving is the major industry here.
The local economy of Neemuch is mainly based on the agriculture produce market (called Krishi Upaj Mandi in the local Hindi language) which is Asia’s largest agriculture produce market yard and world’s second largest as per 2011 report by MCX and WTO in terms of the agricultural products arrival. Many types of cereals, pulses, spices, oil seeds and herbs are traded in the agriculture market of Neemuch. Cereals such as wheat, barley, maize or corn, jowar. Spices such as coriander, fenugreek, ajwain, poppy seeds or posta, jeera, black cumin or kalongi, halim seeds, suwa, tukmaria. Pulses such are gram, urad, moong, masoor, peas. Oil seeds such as soybean, black mustard, yellow mustard, flax seeds, groundnut, sesame seeds, taramira seeds, castor seeds, dolmi and many more agri products such as garlic, onion, guar seeds, isabgol seeds. Neemuch is a prominent trading centre of herbs in India and is the only auction and trading centre of ashwagandha roots (Indian ginseng, withania somnifera) in whole world, more than 500 kinds of herbs are traded in Neemuch. Majorly they are ashwagandha, kalmegh, shatawari, safed musli, stevia leaves, giloy, babul and many more. Neemuch is a dominant trading place in food processing industry and have many cooking oil mills, solvent extractions plants, pulses processing plants, dehydration plants, herbal extraction plants and isabgol husk plants.
Neemuch district is one of the largest producers of opium in the country. Neemuch also have one of the only two opium factories in India. The climate of Neemuch district is apt for the production of opium and thus the opium trade is one of the major cultivated crops in the region. Other major cultivated products are oranges, lemons, red and pink rose and numerous herbs.
Major exportable items are: isabgol, ashwagandha and many kind of herbs, methi, ajwain, coriander, soyabean products like oil, de-oiled cake, soya paneer, soya papar, soy milk etc., garlic powder, Onion powder, Dehydrated Flakes of onion and garlic, red chili powder, leather garments, artificial jewelry.