The market for fresh produce in the country is recording a robust growth thanks to changes in government policies, infrastructure development and subsidies given to agriculture and its sub categories . Whether it is fruits or vegetables, horticulture or poultry, the government has made a lot of policy changes.

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On the sidelines of ‘Fresh Produce’, CNBC-TV18’s Manisha Gupta caught up with CEO of Citrus Growers Association Justin Chadwick, MD of Fruitnet Chris White, Jithendra Nimmagadda of Krishnapatnam Port Company and Joint Managing Director of Suri Agro Fresh Hitin Suri.

Chadwick remains upbeat about the Indian market. "At the moment we do not have big volumes coming to this market, but we really view it as the market of the future. With a big urban population and increasing disposable income, we definitely see this as our market for the future,” he said.

According to White, the market for fresh produce has diversified substantially. "I think it is a lot to do with the emerging middle class, the 500 million new consumers who are actively buying all sorts of products, among them fresh fruits and vegetables. Therefore there is pressure on government to open up the market. It is still in many ways closed compared to other global markets. Let us look at apples in particular, where you have a 50 percent tariff which ordinarily would be such a high hurdle that most people would be reluctant to supply to the market. However, the market continues to grow despite this high tariff and the question would be how more quickly would it grow if the tariff barrier was not there. That is one of the most fundamental changes we have seen.”

Speaking about Krishnapatnam Port’s success mantra, Nimmagadda said, “Our focus has always been on a simple aspect. Keep the customer at the centre, whether it is in terms of the process or the systems, or even the infrastructure. So, rather than we saying that we have this infrastructure, it is up to you to decide how do you handle it. We try and see that the services are tailored with customer at the centre of our entire strategy. That has been a big differentiator.”

Industry experts note that the Indian consumer now wants the best in the world. "Millennials are our Generation Next and they know everything about what they eat and understand what they are buying and where it is coming from. So as service providers, it is important for us to offer them the best of the best,” Suri observed.

First Published:Apr 26, 2019 10:24 PM IST