On a recent visit to India, I was struck by the reality of the country’s economic boom. It hit me the minute I stepped off the plane into a plush new airport before being driven over towering expressways past a sea of skyscrapers to my hotel.
Of course, disturbing sights of poverty remain, and bullock carts still share some roads with almost every other form of transport imaginable, but there are a lot more luxury cars among them nowadays, and this is just one of the many signs of money coursing through society.
If economic predictions are accurate, this is only the start of India’s spending boom. And it’s not just confined to the major metros. As Arvind Singhal of Indian management consultancy Technopak Advisors points out, big opportunities are emerging in small India, as mega-scale investment in everything from power plants to ports spanning the length and breadth of the country transforms small cities and hitherto sleepy towns.
One part of the economy that’s so far missed out on such investments is farming and produce distribution, as any visit to the country’s wholesale markets (mandis) will testify. A supply chain creaking with middlemen and inefficiency is increasingly inadequate to meet the changing consumer demands of modern-day India. And as the world’s second-largest producer of fruit and vegetables with a range of climatic zones that allows for production of almost any item year-round, India boasts huge, underdeveloped horticultural capacity.
It’s high time international players in the produce business took a fresh look at the opportunities in India. Where they might previously have seen it as a trading destination in terms of import/export, they must now look at becoming active participants in the burgeoning domestic market through strategic partnerships or investments.
The big question for these players is how to enter India. Indeed, like navigating the streets of the bustling cities, it’s hard to know where to begin, such is the magnitude and complexity of this market. But there are growing numbers of suitable companies to partner with as well as consultants to guide them.
Commitment, research, flexibility, finding the right business model and not rushing into the first partnership that presents itself or trying to do too much in the early days are some of the words of counsel from consultants in this issue. But visiting the market is the first step, and those foreign and local delegates attending Fresh Produce India on 2-4 March will find much deeper insights.
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