Agro & Food Processing September 2017

Vol 12 Issue 11 September 2017 100/-

High hopes from

food processing industry zero effect of slow down

Seafood exports record history but now what's next?

A new chapter for

the

Indian Coconut Industry The journey

of Indian consumers from

kiranas to online carts India's global standing in

spices under threat

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CONTENTS 36

10

India's global standing in spices under threat

The journey of Indian consumers from kiranas to online carts

16

Desi snacks outshine the multinational rivals 41 Hydroponics: the future of farming

20

High hopes from food processing industry, zero effect of slow down

New program launched to boost startups in agricultural sector

26

Seafood exports record history but now what’s next?

Make maximum use of SAMPADA scheme :Badal

A new chapter for the Indian Coconut Industry

50

Potato Processing Market estimated to touch 30.85 bn USD by 2022 Agriculture exports likely to touch USD 100 bn by 2022 Frozen Jackfruit by Mother Dairy’s Safal launched in Delhi-NCR

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47

After tomato, probable hike in onion prices

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54

CONCOR to establish cold storage unit in Nashik Spices Board, J&K govt. in collaboration to enhance saffron output

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EDITORIAL

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T Editor Manzar Aftab Naqvi Group Editor Firoz H. Naqvi firoz@advanceinfomedia.com Consulting Editor Basma Hussain Graphic Designer Naved H. Kazmi naved@advanceinfomedia.com Advertisement Executive Anjali Mane anjali@advanceinfomedia.com Circulation Seema Hayat Shaikh seema@advanceinfomedia.com Delhi Sayyed Shahnawaz +91-8375034558 Gujarat Brijesh Mathuria +91-99245466999 Genreal Manager Gyanendra Trivedi Marketing & Circulation Office

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The views expressed in this issue are those of the contributors and are not necessarily those of the magazine.

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All disputes are to be referred to Mumbai Jurisdiction.

he 7th edition of South Asia’s biggest Ice cream event - “Indian Ice Cream Congress & Expo 2017” is taking place at Mumbai on September 15-16. The event provides the opportunity for participants, delegates and general public to understand the present status of Indian ice cream industry.

The members of Ice cream congress have worked hard to shape a State of Art event that has given entire Indian and global ice cream sector a platform to showcase their attainments, effort and growth. Important think tanks from all over the world will be a part of this prestigious event discussing and deliberating during the seminars in this episode.

The World Food India 2017” - the mega event planned by Centre from November 3-5 in New Delhi, is another big opportunity for the Indian food industry showcase its development , achievement and stature in the world. About 80 international companies have confirmed their participation at World Food India and 30 global CEOs are expected to attend the event.

Of course I would be there!

The food processing industry is eyeing $10 billion investment in food processing sector in next few years and can grow multi-fold in coming years as the government has come up with numerous schemes and initiatives to create friendly business environment.

While we are talking of foreign investments in Indian food industry, McDonald’s is tangled in legal battle that has forced it to close its 169 outlets in India, and cashing on this are other international QSR’s, like Burger King, Domino’s, KFC, Taco Bells, Pizza Hut and etc.

Yum! Brands, which operate Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell brands in India, sales momentum increased with a system sales growth of 9 per cent for KFC and 8 per cent for Pizza Hut. Burger King has just opened its 100th store in India, and is now profitable at both the store and company levels. The joint has seen a significant number of customers step in their restaurant, especially in Delhi over the past two months when McDonald’s closed down. But that’s in Delhi, growth has come equally from other markets such as Chennai and Mumbai.

India's restaurant sector, currently pegged at Rs 3,09,110 crore ($48 billion) and growing at a CAGR of 10 per cent to Rs 4,98,130 crore by 2021 as tier-2-3 regions are set to drive growth. This is bound to happen as the Indian middle class is now spending more and more, food sector will automatically receive larger share out of their spending. Restaurants are an important industry in India with market 40 times that of Bollywood. The Indian food industry produces 2 per cent of India's GDP and is second largest employer of human capital in after agriculture.

Nestle, Unilever and other large food and retail companies have joined IBM's project to explore how blockchain technology can help track food supply chains and improve safety.

Blockchain, which first emerged as the system underpinning cryptocurrency bitcoin is a shared record of data maintained by a network of computers, rather than a trusted third party.

The industry is cautious because this could be the next best thing since sliced bread and is an opportunity for the food industry to speak with one voice and say to the world that food safety is not going to be a competitive issue. IBM is also launching a blockchain platform that could make it easier for large companies to develop applications using the technology.

Because blockchain can quickly trace the hundreds of parties involved in the mass production and distribution of food, it is expected to make it easier to identify the source of potential contamination during food safety scares.

Local Indian food is among the best and most diverse in the world and there is a real need to promote and savor our rich culinary heritage, irrespective of any physical boundaries.

FSSAI, along with Yes Bank's Yes Global Institute is looking to preserve India's rich food heritage, and creating an archive of recipes and plans to take other initiatives such as setting up hubs and organizing food festivals. These initiatives are part of its objective to promote food safety and hygiene as well as provide wholesome food in the country.

The Jute Corporation of India (JCI) is planning a tie-up with Patanjali Ayurved for branding and promotion of Jute diversified products, such as mini shopping bags and some fashion items, signaling a makeover of the state-controlled agency. Collaboration with Patanjali, one of the fastest-growing FMCG brands, is expected to bring in more brand visibility for jute products and help expand sales. Patanjali has competition from another spiritual guru – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar as Sri Sri Ayurveda is set to take the FMCG industry by storm with the launch of about 1,000 retail stores, reflecting the increasing demand for herbal products across India.

Lastly, I would like to ask my readers, friends, colleagues and contemporaries to please visit the IICE event on 15th as it would be an experience for them itself plus an added value of having different flavors of world's most loved dessert.

See you!

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

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10

SPICES WORLD

India's global standing in spices under threat

Though it enjoys the top most position in the world, several importing countries have raised complaints about adulteration, pesticides in Indian spices

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ndia, known as the home of spices, boasts a long history of trading with the ancient civilizations of Rome and China. Today, Indian spices are the most sought-after globally, given their exquisite aroma, texture, taste and medicinal value.

India has the largest domestic market for spices in the world. Traditionally, spices in India have been grown in small land holdings, with organic farming gaining prominence in recent times. India is the world's largest producer, consumer and

exporter of spices. The country produces about 75 of the 109 varieties listed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and accounts for half of the global trading in spices.

inputs to the central government on policy matters. The board participates in major international fairs and food exhibitions to promote Indian spices, apart from organizing various domestic events.

“India has the largest domestic market for spices in the world�

The Spices Board of India works towards development and worldwide promotion of Indian spices. It provides quality control and certification, registers exporters, documents trade information and provides

Total spices export from India stood at 226,225 tonnes valued at US$ 621.78 in 2016-17, registering a year-on-year growth of 3 per cent. The Major importers of Indian spices in FY 2015-16 were US, China, Vietnam, UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia, UK, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia,

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

SPICES WORLD

and Germany. India commands a formidable position in the world spice trade with the spice exports expected to touch US$ 3 billion by 2016-17.

Top spices produced in the country include pepper, cardamom, chilli, ginger, turmeric, coriander, cumin, celery, fennel, fenugreek, ajwain, dill seed, garlic, tamarind, clove, and nutmeg among others. These spices are also the major item of export from India. Most of these spices are being produced in southern state of India. For example, Kerala produces

around 96 per cent of pepper produced in the country. Spices like cardamom, vanilla, turmeric, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, all spice, clove, curry leaf, tamarind, chilli etc. are being produced in Kerala. In India almost all spices used in the world are being produced. India produces more than 75 spices. ‘The total export of spices increased 3 per cent to reach US$ 621.78 billion in 201617�

Growth in export of Indian spices in 2016-17

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India has surpassed all previous export records and has fulfilled the increasing international demand for its quality spices in the face of tough competition in global markets. Exports of Indian spices and spice products surged to a record growth in 2016-17, touching 9, 47,790 tonne, valued at Rs 17,664.61 crore ($2,633.30 million), thereby registering an increase of 12% in volume, 9% in rupee terms and 6% in dollar terms.

During the previous fiscal 2015-16, exports stood at 8, 43,255 tonnes, valued

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

12

SPICES WORLD

off. Adulteration and pesticide issues are major aspects governing the food industry and trade market. All importing countries have their own stringent food laws and regulations to ensure the safety and health of their citizens and exporters have to abide by these. The food standards, guidelines and codes of practices on imported items are different for each country. Hence, Indian exporters face an immense challenge. The industry wants to deliver quality spices, but feels that government regulations do nothing to assist in actually fixing the problem.

“Adulteration and pesticides are the major concern. So far, importing countries have not taken major steps for India, other than tightening the rules. If we will not deliver quality products, it could be a big threat.”

at Rs 16,238.23 crore ($2,482.83 million).

Chilli continued to be the most demanded spice in FY17 with exports of 4,00,250 tonnes amounting to Rs 5,070.75 crore, registering an increase of 15% in volume and 27% in value. Cumin was the secondmost exported spice, recording an increase of 22% in volume and 28% in value. A total volume of 1, 19,000 tonnes of cumin valued at Rs 1,963.20 crore was exported from India in 2016-17. The increase was largely due to mandatory checks on cumin and its by-products implemented by the Spices Board in backdrop of rapid alerts from importing countries.

“Most amazing fact was that this appreciable increase in exports came in the face of strict food safety regulations that now define and determine the international commodity trade” Adulteration and pesticides concern Pesticides are causing serious problems all over the world. Most pesticides and herbicides, once taken up by the body, go to war with the endocrine system, blocking the body’s ability to regulate its own hormones. In India, these dangerous pesticides are beginning to contaminate the country’s most healthy, top export spices.

Countries that import India’s spices report rising levels of pesticide residue.

Spices adulterated with pesticides include turmeric, cumin, ginger, chili and pepper.

This is a huge problem, considering the fact that India has 45 per cent of the market share for these and other important spices.

The market for Indian spice is good even under the strict food regulation policy but still the adulteration and pesticide issue cannot be ignored and one has to raise the alarm that “If pesticide and adulteration are not tackled by strict action from both government and industry, India will lose its market.”

Cleaning up India’s spice industry In recent years, importers have begun to reject India’s spice lots due to pesticide adulteration. Spices Board India saw a 25 per cent export increase for India’s spices in 2012 and 2013, but by 2014 and 2015, the increase in exports dropped off by 16 per cent.

Spices Board India related that their spices had continuously been in demand until recently, when the spices’ once superior quality started falling

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

At present, there are three important concerns with respect to export of spices including pathogens, pesticide residues and mycotoxins. Spices Board has taken extensive measures for the control of these issues. Firstly, the Board has established seven state-of-the-art laboratories at the major export locations in India. Secondly, the Board has implemented mandatory testing programs covering the major food safety issues (presence of pesticide residues, mycotoxins and illegal dyes like Sudan), for the export of spices from India.

The establishment of a Centre of Excellence in analysis of pesticide residues and microbiological contamination in spices is already in progress at the Board's laboratory in Mumbai.

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SPICES WORLD

India is the number one country since 1961 in the production and processing of spices. The total production of spices is about 1063000 MT with the value of $ 1377339 billion. India is producing more than 4 million tons of spice and is exporting around 180 spice products in over 150 nations.

The Indian spice sector has registered the rise by 26 per cent in terms of dollar value.

The total area under spices in India is 2.3 million hectares and the annual production of spices in our country is around 27 lakh tones, valued approximately at Rs. 13000 crore.

However, the Spices Board is confident that the issues would be addressed, though the industry still believes that more efforts are needed from government side and within the industry.

To address the issue, recently traders and exporters met to take remedial measures.

Also to reduce the pesticide problem in spices, the industry is planning to collaborate with farmers and appoint scientists to educate farmers in this regard. Spice traders and exporters have come together to form a new body called 'Seed and Spice Stakeholder Association' (SSSA). Other proposed solutions include sending clean food scientists to farmers to help educate them about pesticide adulteration and mitigating the risk of contamination. These quality improvement training programs could help farmers seek organic certification.

Traders and exporters are now meeting to form special task forces to educate everyone in the industry about what to look out for to prevent pesticide adulteration.

“The issue has to be communicated to all stakeholders and the reform for production of clean and safe spices has to begin from the basic level of industry.”

Also for reducing the issues of adulteration and pesticides in spices, the issue has to be communicated to all stakeholders of spice industry and the reform for production of clean and safe spices has to begin from the basic level of industry.

“Spices Board has always promoted farmers to adopt organic farming in spice cultivation” The Spices Board has implemented

various scheme heads under developmental programs for promoting organic cultivation of spices like ginger, turmeric, herbal spices, seed spices and chillies and provides assistance to organic farmers for obtaining organic certification.

The quality improvement training programs for farmers are conducted in all regions to impart the necessity of production of clean and safe spices, the monetary benefits obtained on the production and sale of pesticide free spices.

Conclusion India still has maintained the charm of its spices. Trend in production of spices in India gives a positive signal as area; production and productivity of spices are increasing every year. Due to high demand from European country and rest of the world, the export of Indian spices has always shown a positive trend.

India is traditionally known as the spice bowl of the world. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, about 63 spices are widely grown in our country.

India has a worldwide reputation as the only country which produces almost all kinds of spices.

These spices sector also play a significant role in the development of Indian economy.

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

The net share of Indian spices in world trade is about 35 per cent. The Indian spice processing industry have bright future as agro processing units because India may be a big spice basket for majority of countries in the world as India is the largest producer and processor of spices.

But it is facing many problems like availability of standardized raw material, unscientific production method, negligence in training of personnel; obtaining finance, marketing.

But the biggest one is the rising cases of adulteration and presence of pesticides in outbound shipments of the commodity that are posing a threat to the country's standing. Several importing countries have already raised complaints about the quality of spices, especially jeera (cumin), chilli and pepper.

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DESI SNACKS SHINE

Desi snacks outshine the multinational rivals

C

ontinuing growth in the country’s snack market can be attributed to prevalence of traditional snacking culture in India, aggressive marketing strategies by key market players, rising disposable income and growing urban population. Introduction of regional flavors by leading players is also boosting the extruded snacks market in the country.

Moreover, busy work schedules, especially of urban population, coupled with huge and growing young population base is boosting demand for extruded snacks.

“Consumption of snacks is also growing on account of competitive pricing strategies being followed by small and regional players” India’s snacks market grew at a significant pace over the last decade, and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of more than 11% during 2016 – 2021. West region of India dominated the country’s extruded snacks market in 2015, and the region is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. The region also accounts for the largest number of organized and unorganized extruded snacks manufacturers in the country. In 2016, mixed snacks grabbed the largest value share in the market, and the segment would continue to be the largest in the coming years. Combination of various ingredients makes the products in this product category tastier and crispier, and consequently the segment has been witnessing increasing demand from every section of the society, especially from kids and younger generation.

Desi companies take on snack market

Indian consumers seem to have recovered their taste for traditional snacks such as farsan, bhujia and Namkeen going by the impressive growth rate of local firms at a time when their multinational rivals are struggling.

Local snacking companies such as Balaji Wafers, Prataap Snacks, Bikanervala, Bikaji Foods and DFM Foods have recorded sales growth of 8-35%, in 2016 even as international food majors such as GSK Consumer, PepsiCo's food division and Mondelez struggled to grow their business amid slowing rural demand and discretionary spends.

“It's not that the local players ‘impressive numbers came from a very small base. These five firms have combined sales of nearly Rs 3,700 crore, that is higher than Nestle's Maggi, and a few of these firms are larger than Kellogg's in India” GSK Consumer posted negative sales growth in 2015-16 while Pepsi-Co's food division and Mondelez both grew 4%. Experts and company insiders attributed local players' growth to lower price points, increased distribution and conversion from unorganised market.

Balaji Wafers that posted a 14% sales growth last fiscal at Rs 1,440 crore have kept overhead costs low so that their products remain affordable and bringing healthier variants and expanding in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh helped.

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

On an average, regional snack brands offer 30% higher volume than multinational rivals at similar price points, especially in highest selling price points of Rs 5 and Rs 10.

According to market research, sweet and savoury snacks have grown by 26%, highest within packaged food segment between 2010 and 2015. About four years ago, packaged namkeen had replaced western snacks such as potato chips and finger sticks as the largest segment within branded salty snacks market.

"Domestic manufacturers are increasing their distribution and penetration into rural India and have launched smaller packs at lower price points" The research firm expects the salty snacks segment to surpass biscuits with sales of nearly Rs 35,801 crore by 2020, up from Rs 19,151 crore in 2015. Funding from private equity funds helped domestic snacking firms to expand their reach and market their products more aggressively.

There has been an impetus on brand building and geographical expansion by these regional firms. Their variants launches have been faster compared to large food companies.

Prataap Snacks, maker of Yellow Diamond chips, was backed by Sequoia and has filed papers for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise Rs 400 crore. The company, which clocked 35% growth in sales last year at Rs 758 crore, recently roped in actor Salman

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DESI SNACKS SHINE

price and comes in many flavours. But the branded aloo papad still doesn't command the price of packaged, branded potato wafers.

Marketers say this can change, that micro innovation can make desi snacks command price premium comparable to 'Western' snacks. And the makeover of munchies has started.

Since aloo papad required an additional effort (frying) consumers "understand" the premium for ready-to-eat munchies. Lays potato wafers from PepsiCo, the market leader in India in 'Western' snacks, is priced roughly 10% higher than a packet of aloo papad of similar size.

Khan to promote its brand. Nearly two years ago, private equity fund Lighthouse Funds had invested Rs 125 crore in Bikaji Foods while WestBridge Capital Partners picked up a 25% stake in DFM Foods that sells snack foods under the brand Crax.

It may be difficult for these domestic players to maintain their growth momentum though as larger rivals are entering their turf with similar pricing and products. Parle Products, ITC and PepsiCo have all launched similar range as smaller regional players in the past few years.

"No doubt, regional brands offer better value for money. But as MNC’s enter their region and expand portfolio, their growth rate might taper off” A branded, hygienically packed option, from Mother's Recipe, is double the

"Paperboat’s focus will be on ethnic snacks, similar to be beverages. We believe there is a latent demand for hygienically packaged, branded ethnic snacks” These and other munchies makeover will come on top of earlier experiments, many of them successful: Nestle's Maggi and Pepsi's Kurkure have a combined business of a billion dollar in Indian snacks. But there's plenty of room to grow in the $35 billion food market.

The Indian snack companies Prataap Snacks has come a long way from the narrow by lanes of Indore. What began as a small-town venture has now evolved into India’s fifth-largest salty snack maker in

“But desi munchies are making big inroads.

Dosa masala burgers, jaljeera and aam panna drinks, masala oats - these are just a few products in portfolios of snack-makers, even multinational ones” The potential for desi snacks is limitless.

Companies are gradually converting products that are traditionally eaten at home to something that are consumed on the go. Thus it is expected that Indian snacks will take over Western' ones in the next 2-3 years.

Marketers also say consumers are correlating healthy food with something inherently Indian and are starting to favour munchies that use ingredients common in Indian kitchens.

Consumers are rewarding brands that innovate in flavours, form or delivery. A staple product like aloo used in parathas in the north, wada in the west and dosa in the south, has the potential of being twice the 'Western' snacks market that is worth Rs15,000 crore. Future Consumer, is launching traditional aloo bhujia in peri peri, wasabi and schezwan flavours and pricing it 30% higher than rival products.

Future Group, the country's largest retailer, also plans to launch mayonnaise with desi flavours such as coriander and pudina, smoky Tikka and mustard.

Ditto in the case for Kettle Studio Chips, a product that isn't processed at conveyor belts but is made in a desi style by frying them in a pot has a price tag double than that of potato wafers.

Paper Boat led the revival of packaged ethnic drinks, a move which resulted in category leaders such as Dabur's Real and PepsiCo's Tropicana to also launch flavours such as coconut water, jaljeera and Mosambi. Now, Paper Boat will enter the snacks category.

September 2017 Agro & Food Processing August 2017

terms of market share, as per market research.

Some of its most popular products come under its Yellow Diamond brand: potato chips, the Motu Patlu rings, and tangy snack Chulbule.

Loyal customers have helped turn Prataap into a national snacking brand and a name to reckon with in India’s Rs19, 000-crore salty snack market. The company clocked a turnover of Rs757 crore and a profit of Rs20.8 crore for the year ended March 31, 2016. The icing came when in 2016, Bollywood star Salman Khan agreed to endorse its chips.

The team has taken on India’s massive potato chips market, created and dominated by food and beverage giant PepsiCo India through its flagship brands, Lay’s.

The company has also clinched a deal with the Reliance Retail’s supermarket stores, marking its entry onto supermarket shelves after years of being sold primarily through small shops in tiny streets.

DESI SNACKS SHINE

Desi snack-maker Haldiram's grew 13 per cent clocking combine revenue of more than Rs 4,000 crore in 2016. The homegrown snack manufacturer, which had its humble beginnings in a small shop in Rajasthan's Bikaner, is also the market leader in traditional snacks.

The Indian snack major is now twice the size of Hindustan Unilever's packaged food division or Nestle Maggi and larger than the India turnover of the two American fast food rivals Domino's and McDonald's put together.

Haldiram has increased its reach and developed products in-house that ensure quality control.

The company also understands Indian palate well and that comes handy while launching new products.

India's snacks market, which has long been dominated by potato chips now faces stiff competition from Haldiram's traditional offerings for the Indian palate.

Haldiram’s retails chips in commonly known flavours as well as exotic ones like Thai Chilli.

On the export front, the company’s products are available in the US, the UK, Middle East, East Europe and parts of North Africa.

Parle Wafers of Parle Products’ has strategically-located manufacturing facilities, one each in Bahadurgarh, Indore, Madurai and West Bengal with each facility catering to a particular zone. Parle Wafers is a relatively new and smaller player in the overall snacking segment, currently with six wafer variants.

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distribution network, reaching a higher number of outlets is definitely challenging. There are typical outlets where there is exclusive availability of Parle Wafers, which becomes a big strength. On a comparative scale, while the exclusive retailing opportunities are beneficial, the company finds its sales comparatively reducing by 10% when it retails via multi-brand outlets. For Parle Products, snacks contribute 3% to its total revenue.

Within this, wafers bring in 1-1.5%.

provides to retail outlets. For example, if a stand costs say, `500, 10-20% of the cost is borne by the store and about the same percent by the dealer.

“The goal now for Parle Wafers, is to increase footprint and visibility at the outlet level” CavinKare acquired Garden Namkeens in 2009. In 2013-2014, wafers were introduced.

With production for wafers based in Bhiwandi, the target market for the brand is Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi-NCR and parts of Gujarat.

Mumbai-based Chheda Specialties manufactures three variants of potato chips and five variants of banana chips at its Manor unit in Maharashtra. The chips contribute 60% towards revenue which also includes exports and the marketing initiatives at local levels draw about 4% ad spends.

Chips and wafers together bring in 35% in revenue. The overall communication expenditure for Garden Namkeens as a whole rarely exceeds 5%. Quality and freshness are very important for them and they try to provide the best volume.

“Once the consumer is satisfied with the quality of the product, they remember the brand identity well.”

Balaji Wafers has manufacturing units in Rajkot, Valsad, Indore and Uttar Pradesh.

It counts Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Goa and Madhya Pradesh as its markets.

The company spends 5-10% towards communication, only if the need arises. There is no compulsion, to add the communication layer at a determined frequency when their products are seeing traction organically.

Balaji Wafers shares the cost of the stands it

The remaining is borne by Balaji Wafers.

Given that it is an impulse driven category, merchandising support such as racks, stands and aerial hangers, is a huge prerequisite generally for snacks and more so for the chips/ wafers category.

Chheda Specialties provides offer-based promotions to outlets like D-Mart, Reliance Fresh or Big Bazaar.

Reason Domestic players start from a very low base, which gives them many opportunities and a lot of ground. With many people joining the consumption fold, maintaining taste and variety are very important. The category in itself has a lot of potential owing to higher disposable incomes and increased consumer awareness.

The most important is that what tip the scale in the favour of local brands are consumers and them being convinced of the product being of a certain quality.

“Indian consumers have also started to benchmark locally manufactured snacks against those that are imported” For example, increased western influences through the availability of imported potato chips have made Indians more aware of product concepts and attributes like packaging.

Product innovation, branding and packaging have provided an added impetus for these products.

With domestic’s snacks manufacturers willing to experiment with flavours and providing the best value for money to customers, there are promising times ahead.

Despite being a company with a huge

Agro & Food Processing August 2017

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HIGH HOPES

T

High hopes from food processing industry, zero effect of slow down

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

he availability of raw materials, changing lifestyles, needs to offer broader selection of food products at lower costs and innovation in technology are some of the key factors which helps to drive the growth of food processing equipment market worldwide.

Among various food processing equipment, bakery and pasta equipment market is growing at faster rate. Growing income level of individual leads to more investment over food processing equipment. Large population base in Asia Pacific countries and frequent change in food preference among individuals lead to increasing demand for food products. This changing trend leads to investment more on food processing equipment. Due to advancements in technology related to cutting, slicing and grinding in food processing equipment, many manufacturers in food industry are replacing their older machines with newer ones, which are more efficient and boost their bottom line through higher throughput. “Equipment categories include chillers,

HIGH HOPES

dryers, feeders, fryers, grinders, homogenisers, mixers, roasters, separators, slicers and ovens. Most food processing machines have similar automation and motion control needs, such as material conveying and positioning, heating, drying and cooling. They also require cleanliness, gentle handling and precise control of temperatures, pressures, treatment times and other process parameters. In addition, food processing machinery is often integrated with high-speed packaging and labelling equipment.�

Asia Pacific is one of the fastest growing markets for food processing equipment.

The market is driven by increasing demand of processed food products in emerging and developing countries including India, China, Indonesia and Thailand. In Asia Pacific region, China accounts for the largest market in food processing equipment. The total market size of the Indian food processing industry is expected to be reach around USD 430.0 billion by 2018.

The trends are more towards consumer goods like ready-to-eat food products, juices, quick consumption products, and health food and drinks. Companies are looking to launch such products in the market and technology suppliers are working on this too. The total market size of food processing equipment industry in India is estimated at US$ 1,580 million.

The estimate is considering only the organised industry. There has been a steady increase in market and the overall growth of Indian market averaged at 15 per cent considering the next four years.

The Government of India has introduced a scheme for Technology Upgradation and Modernisation of Food Processing Industries during the 12th Plan (201317) under National Mission on Food Processing (NMFP). The main objective of the scheme is to increase the level of processing, reduce wastage, ensure value addition, and enhance the income of farmers as well as increase exports, thereby resulting in overall development of food processing sector. The scheme envisages extending financial assistance

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for establishment of new food processing unit as well as technology upgradation and expansion of existing units in the country. However, experts believe that latest imposition of 18 per cent GST on food processing machineries may slowdown the growth of machine market.

We interviewed some of leading technology providers in this segment to understand where food processing & packaging machinery segment is going in next 5 years. Indian food processing industry is one of the fastest growing segment in India and in the global arena.

Growth will be higher in coming years due to higher disposable income of the population in urban areas. Similar growth has been witnessed from the rural areas as well. Considering these factors demand for latest technologies will grow rapidly and India is going to be the biggest buyer of these machineries both from local as well as foreign markets.

Dilip Wagh of 6 Sigma Foodtech is one of the most experienced persons in frozen food technologies in India at the moment.

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22 He has worked in some of the leading global companies and now providing his services under his own Dilip Wagh company 6 Sigma. The company is organized into food related business areas & food processing and preservation, and food, material handling.

They also provide solutions consultancy for Frozen Fruit & Vegetables, French fries, Poultry, Sea Food, Meat, Dairy, RTE, Potato chips. Etc while Wraptech Machines Pvt. Ltd. is in business of manufacturing high quality Form-FillSeal Machines, Heat Sealers, Auger Filler and Specialized Filling Systems.

The machines are manufactured in a high technology environment plant in Mumbai, India. Karan Meghani is a member of its sales team, providing the real information he observed in the market.

Food processing machinery comes in all shapes and sizes to meet the widespread demands of companies that produce beverages, bakery items, candy, dairy goods, frozen food, fruit, meat, poultry, seafood, snack food, vegetables and other edibles. Autobake Productions is providing the latest technology to enable profitable growth in the Baking Industry.

Autobake bridges the gap between the craftsmanship of an enterprise and modern techniques of manufacturing to unleash the hidden potential within the enterprise. Autobake is led by its Director, Yusuf Patanwala discussed on the current scenario of industry. Here are excerpts of the discussions our team had with the above persons.

What are the current technologies you are offering to Indian food processing industry, what kind latest advancement industry needs to cater future demand?

Dilip Wagh: 6 Sigma Foodtech supplies freezing solution to our valued customer from capacity of 4 kg/ hr to 40 kg/hr. We are associated with Advanced Freezer Canada for in line Freezers & Acfri France for batch Roll in freezer. Advanced freezer builds world Largest IQF tunnel Freezer 40 tons/hr capacity & has many large units working in North America. Fully Seamless Welded Insulated Enclosure.

Ready to be placed and connected to

refrigeration, electrical and water service.

Built to USDA, FDA, UL, CFIA, OSHA and CSA - Specifications & Standards.

Gentle smooth handling of products.

Compact packaged design in lower operation cost and saving process floor space. High efficiency impingement horizontal airflow allowing fast freezing.

Minimum product weight loss by exposure to coldest air temperature at all time for each tier directly from evaporator.

The ACFRI Chilling / Freezing / Incubation system includes multiple vertical-type evaporator, with horizontal fins and vertical tubes. This system allows a double homogeneity, Vertical homogeneity of the evaporator T°C & Vertical homogeneity of the ventilation speed on the Products.

We also Supply customer with local process machines complete freezing line from receive to Packing from our local workshop Advent Foodtech in Pune told Dilip Wagh.

Karan Meghani: Wraptech offers a wide range of solutions for the food industry.

From high speed Karan Meghani

solutions for fast moving goods to customised solutions for people wanting to pack a range of Indian chutneys and pickles. Company machines are integrated with wide range of safety testing equipment so that the manufacturer can test their product before it is finally packed.

Yusuf Patanwala: Autobake Productions provides technologies in Dough processing of Breads, Rusk, Pav, Buns, Croissants, Puff Pastry and Khari in collaboration with KOENIG MASCHINEN from Austria and Fritsch from Germany.

The current scenario in India is that of semi- automatic or manual production of these products. This leads to immense waste of material due to inaccurate weight, excessive consumption of oil while processing of dough and dependence on manpower. The Automatic Production lines we have implemented in India

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

have had an ROI of less than a year on investment ranging from 2, 00,000 to 5, 00,000 Euros. This has been achieved by gaining enormous savings in material and labour costs in addition to enhanced and uniform quality of production,“The Industry needs to change its mindset and be flexible to the demand of the market.

The market needs new and better products in line with those available in western countries. Challenge is to build an Industrial mindset to invest in machines that are flexible and able to cater to needs of the changing market”, said Yusuf.

The total market size of food processing equipment Industry in India is estimated US $ 1571 million, how much growth you expect in coming 4-5 years?

Yusuf Patanwala: With favorable business climate in India, Autobake Productions expects large and medium size bakers to invest in modern technology and more towards industrial type of production of Breads, Buns, Pav, Pizza, Khari, Rusk and all other products.

Karan Meghani; Wraptech expects 2025 per cent growth in coming years.

Dilip Wagh: We expect Indian food processing sector to grow @ 10 to 15 % only for next couple of year. This will eventually grow in greater speed thereafter as awareness of frozen food will increase.

What are the factors driving growth in India?

Karan Meghani: Individual consumer income, now looking for a more premium product. Consumer awareness of food safety and hygiene standards has increased and now they are looking for a product that is fresh and safe to consume.

Government rules tighten on food safety and handling, forcing food manufactures to improve & upgrade. Investments from multinational food companies either expanding or new companies coming in via joint ventures.

Dilip Wagh: The success of a frozen food business depends on developing a product that holds up well when it is frozen and developing a business infrastructure that can package, hold, and deliver frozen food. In addition, marketing frozen food involves standing out in a fiercely competitive environment because retail freezer space is limited and expensive to maintain. A frozen food business plan should consider these unique challenges

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HIGH HOPES

24 while also charting a business model that can profitably produce and distribute the product.

Yusuf Patanwala: Factors driving growth are; • Availability of new and advanced technologies for Yusuf Patanwala

Industrial type production of Bakery Products.

• Market demand towards hygienic, safe and nutritious food products.

• Need to minimize dependence on manpower.

• Customer demand for “freshness” wherein large players are already thinking in line of frozen bakery products – an upcoming trend in European countries.

The GST council has kept the food processing machinery under 18% slab, your comments.

Dilip Wagh: GST council has kept food machines in 18% & 28 % slab which is not so good for growth in food industry.

Yusuf Patanwala: GST rate of 18% is about 33% more than what was in VAT regime. However, tax credit on imports and a uniform tax regime across India will surely boost sales and help business in long run.

The customers are too possessive for the quality product, what technologies you are offering to maintain the quality check of your products, do you think that Indian food processing industry need much better-quality assurance techniques?

Karan Meghani: We have started offering camera systems that can capture product defects and reject them. OCR & BCR reading technology for better traceability, metal detection and X-ray detection systems to capture any defects post packing and to also check seal integrity. MAP detectors to accurately flush and analyse the atmosphere in the pouch/sachet.

Yusuf Patanwala: Leading Brands in India are already Quality and Health conscious and offering quality products.

The challenge is for medium and small-

scale manufacturers who are unable to maintain excellent quality and hygiene standards due to lack of adequate resources, knowledge, and manpower.

Autobake provides the system and framework for small and medium companies towards enhancing their production standards to higher levels.

Dilip Wagh: Optimal freezing methods vary considerably with each food product, not every food freezes well. Certain varieties of vegetables or strawberries for example have been found to freeze best.

This might be because of their firm texture or specific sugar content. So farmers will grow these special varieties under contract with a frozen food company.

The raw materials for frozen foods include whatever is to be frozen, e.g. fish, chicken, green beans, pizza. In most cases, the food is specifically cultivated or adapted for freezing. In the case of frozen desserts such as cakes and pies or entrees such as meat loaf and gravy, the recipe must be tested and altered so that it freezes well. Large companies will order optimum ingredients according to standards they have established during their product testing. For example, the noodles used in a frozen pasta entree may be ordered in bulk from a distributor that makes them in a certain specified width or viscosity or flour content according to the precise need of the frozen food manufacturer. In this respect, ingredients in a frozen meal may differ from what a home cook would buy at the supermarket.

But in general, frozen foods do not require a host of extra ingredients such as preservatives. Added ingredients are most frequently thickeners and stabilizers such as starch, xanthan gum, and carrageenan.

These helps retain the desired texture of the food after thawing.

Recipes for foods destined for the freezer may also do better with the addition of a sauce or glaze, because this protects the food from dehydration when it is passed under the freezing air blast. Vegetables or fruits destined for freezing may also be picked at a different time than they would be if they were to be sold fresh, because they need to be at optimal tenderness.

India is huge country with huge demand of processed food products varying region to region.

Dilip Wagh: Create prototypes of your frozen food product. The prototyping

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

process should involve preparing samples, freezing them in the type of packaging you intend to use and then reheating them and consuming them as a customer would.

This process is an opportunity to learn about your potential customer's experience with your product and make changes as needed. For example, if you will be making and selling a frozen dinner entrée but the different ingredients degrade into a homogeneous stew when the product is reheated, experiment with freezing some ingredients separately and adding them at a different stage in the freezing process.

Describe the information you learn during this prototyping and development process in your frozen food business plan.

Yusuf Patanwala: Indian business men are very smart in understanding the palate of the Indian customer. There are very good national companies like Haldirams and Monginis who are leaders in their respective segments and helped to grow the market with ‘value for money’ products.

They have implemented sound business practices which have enabled their presence across many cities in India.

Thus, the customer faith in genuinebrands grows with such companies leading the market.

Customer demands different kind and capacity machines with tailor made applications. How has been you experience with these kinds of expectations?

Yusuf Patanwala: Different customers require different solution, we have formed associations with food technologists and ingredient manufacturers to help us and tailor our solutions as per specific requirement of the customer.

Dilip Wagh: In India awareness on process is very limited, customer want one set of machines to run all vegetables or product & then face problem later.

We are spending quite a good amount on specially to develop machine to address Indian Products both vegetables & convenience food.

Plenty of success has come to us with repeat orders from our customers. Even multinationals have taken interest in buying machines from us.

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Seafood exports record history but now what’s next?

W

ith an export of 11,34,948 MT of seafood costing US$ 5.78 billion against 9,45,892 tons and 4.69 billion dollars a year earlier, India has broken all the previous and continuously laddering the CGAR year on year. But a decision recently taken

by European Union may pose as an eclipse for the Indian seafood exporters.

Now EU has made mandatory for 50 per cent of each consignment to be tested, against the earlier 10 per cent

Rajen Padhi

claiming contamination antibiotics like Nitrofurans and metabolites, AOZ, and chloramphenicol in them. Industry is working with the government to find a solution. Ironically, all consignments are exported after being tested in government labs and getting a clearance certificate.

However, along with seafood food items like fruits, vegetables and cereals are also facing similar challenges in the EU. Another headache for exporters is the sale of incentives given on free-on-board

Nobert karikkassery

Agro & Food Processing September 2017 August 2017

(FOB) value of exports in form of licence will now attract a 12 per cent goods and service tax. Earlier, the licence value was adjusted by importers against the customs duty, payments of excise duties and payments of service tax. Meanwhile, in a meet on mariculture CMFRI director A Gopalakrishnan, urged industrialists to invest money in this sector to enhance fish production.

India’s Seafood Export at all-time High in 2016-17

Abraham Tharakan

Kamlesh Gupta

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Riding on a robust demand for its shrimp and fish in international markets, India exported 11,34,948 MT of seafood worth an all-time high of US$ 5.78 billion (Rs 37, 870.90 crore) in 2016-17 as against 9,45,892 tons and 4.69 billion dollars a year earlier, with USA and South-East Asia continuing to be the major importers while the demand from the European Union (EU) grew substantially during the period.

Shrimp maintained its position as the top

A Jayathilak

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item of export, accounting for 38.28 per cent in quantity and 64.50 per cent of the total earnings in dollar terms. Shrimp exports increased by 16.21 per cent in terms of quantity and 20.33 per cent in dollar terms. Fish was the second largest export item, accounting for a share of 26.15 per cent in quantity and 11.64 per cent in dollar earnings, registering a growth of 26.92 per cent in terms of value.

USA imported 1,88,617 MT of Indian seafood, accounting for 29.98 per cent

Ajay Dash

J K Jena

in terms of dollar. Export to that country registered a growth of 22.72 per cent, 33 per cent and 29.82 per cent in terms of quantity, value in rupee and US dollars, respectively. South East Asia remained the second largest destination of India’s marine products, with a share of 29.91 per cent in dollar terms, followed by the EU (17.98 per cent), Japan (6.83 per cent), the Middle East (4.78 per cent), China (3.50 per cent) and other countries (7.03 per cent). Overall, exports to South East Asia

A Gopalakrishnan

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28 increased by 47.41 per cent in quantity, 52.84 per cent in rupee value and 49.90 per cent in dollar earnings.

“Increased production of L. Vannamei, diversification of aquaculture species, sustained measures to ensure quality, and increase in infrastructure facilities for production of value added products were largely responsible for India’s positive growth in exports of seafood,” said Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister for Commerce and Industry.

The overall export of shrimp during 2016-17 was pegged at 4, 34,484 MT worth USD 3,726.36 million. USA was the largest import market for shrimp (1, 65,827 MT), followed by the EU (77,178 MT), South East Asia (1, 05,763 MT), Japan (31,284 MT), Middle East (19,554 MT), China (7818 MT) and other countries (27,063 MT).

The export of Vannamei shrimp, a major seafood delicacy, improved from 2, 56,699 MT to 3,29,766 MT in 2016-17, registering a growth of 28.46 per cent in quantity. In value terms, 49.55 per cent of total Vannamei shrimp was exported to USA followed by 23.28 per cent to South East Asian countries, 13.17 per cent to the EU, 4.53 per cent to Japan, 3.02 per cent to the Middle East and 1.35 per cent to China.

Japan was the major market for Black Tiger shrimp with a share of 43.84 per cent in terms of value, followed by USA (23.44) and South-East Asia (11.33).

Indian shrimp continued to be the principal export item to USA with a share of 94.77 per cent in dollar value while Vannamei shrimp to that country showed an increase of 25.60 per cent in quantity and 31.75 per cent in dollar terms.

Shrimp was the major item of exports, accounting for 40.66 per cent in quantity and 55.15 per cent in dollar earnings out of the total exports to the EU. Exports of Vannamei shrimp to the EU improved by 9.76 per cent in quantity and 11.40 per cent in dollar value.

Japan, the fourth largest destination for Indian seafood, accounted for 6.83 per cent in earnings and 6.08 per cent in quantity terms. Shrimp continued to be the major item of exports to Japan with a share of 45.31 per cent in quantity and 77.29 per cent in value out of the total exports to that country.

Besides shrimp and fish, India’s other major seafood product was squid, which recorded a growth of 21.50 per cent, 59.44 per cent and 57 per cent in terms of quantity, rupee value and dollar earnings, respectively. Export of cuttlefish showed a decline in quantity terms, but increased in the rupee value and dollar terms by 18.85 per cent and 16.95 per cent, respectively.

Dried items registered a growth of 40.98%, 20.14% & 79.05% in terms of quantity, rupee value and dollar terms, respectively. Indian ports handled a total marine cargo of 11,34,948 tons worth Rs 37,870.90 crore (5,777.61 million dollars) in 2016-17 as compared to 9,45,892 tons worth Rs 30,420.83 crore (4,687.94 million dollars) in 2015-16. Vizag, Kochi, Kolkata, Pipavav and Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNP) were major ports that handled the marine cargo during 201617. Exports improved from Vizag, Kochi, Kolkata, Pipavav, JNP, Krishnapatanam and Tuticorin as compared to 2015-16.

Vietnam, with a share of 76.57 per cent in value (US dollar), was the major South East Asian market for Indian marine products, followed by Thailand (12.93 per cent), Taiwan (3.88 per cent), Malaysia (2.60 per cent), Singapore (2.21 per cent), South Korea (1.50 per cent) and other countries (0.30 per cent). Vietnam alone imported 3, 18,171 MT of Indian seafood, the quantity being much more than that of any other individual markets like US, Japan or China.

The EU continued to be the third largest destination for Indian marine products with a share of 16.73 per cent in quantity.

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

Vizag port exported 1,59,973 tons of marine cargo worth Rs 9,294.31 crore (1,401.94 million US dollars) in 2016-17 as compared to 1,28,718 tons worth Rs 7,161 crore (1,105.76 million dollars) in 2015-16.

Vizag port was followed by Kochi (1,55,989 tons, Rs 4,447.05 crore), Kolkata (1,04668 tons, Rs 4,451.67 crore), Pipavav (2,32,391 tons, Rs 4,217.45 crore), JNP (1,49,914 tons, Rs 4,084.96 crore), Krishnapatnam (62,049 tons, Rs 3,701.63 crore), Tuticorin (42,026 tons, Rs 2,220.52 crore), and Chennai (37,305 tons, 1,693.87 crore).

Indian seafood exporters may go under scanner in EU, exports to be impacted Indian seafood exports may come under inspection in the European Union (EU), the third-largest market of India, because antibiotics are being frequently found in them. Speculation among UK importers is rife that the EU is considering a ban on aquaculture products from India though there is nothing to support this.

In 2016-17, the European Union accounted for 18 per cent of 5.78 billion seafood exports from India. Trade sources said that there have been increasing rejections of Indian shrimps because of antibiotics like Nitrofurans and metabolites, AOZ, and chloramphenicol found in them.

But of late rejections have reduced. The European Commission is also believed to be blacklisting factories whose products have been rejected.

“While the Commission has not taken any official action (the issue does not appear on any EU agenda) the future of Indian

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largest market for overall seafood exports from India after the US and South-East Asia, accounting for 20.71 per cent of the export value in dollar terms. Quantitywise, it is the second largest destination, taking up 19.70 per cent of the 945,892 tonnes of seafood exported from the country in 2015-16.

aquaculture imports is looking bleak. The directorate-general, health and food safety is seriously worried about the continuing finds of antibiotics in Indian shrimp and dissatisfied with the response so far of the Indian authorities,” an advisor to Seafish, which represents the UK seafood industry, wrote to importers.

The Commission is dissatisfied both with the continued non-compliance and the lack of progress made by the Indian authorities.

“In the light of what we know, it would be no surprise if we see the commission puts up a proposal at the standing committees that Indian aquaculture products be banned completely. The commission is having a summer shutdown at the moment so no meetings will be taking place until September. We will look out for developments,” the advisor said.

Last year, the EU had strengthened its inspection norms for aquaculture products sent from India. Earlier, the norm was testing samples from at least 10 per cent of the consignments, which was enhanced to 50 per cent in 2016.

fishy as EU steps up inspections In what appears to be a case of a nontariff barrier being imposed on shrimp exports from India, the European Union (EU) recently made it mandatory for 50 per cent of each consignment to be tested, against the earlier 10 per cent. Indeed, some in the seafood industry believe the move is aimed at arm-twisting India into making some trade concessions to the EU. “There is no justifiable reason for increasing the EU import-surveillance norms. Normally, such measures are taken when frequency of rejections is on the rise. However, there are no such reports,” Norbert Karikkassery, President, Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) — Kerala Region, “The trade feels that the measures adopted by the EU on Indian shrimp exports are a pressure tactic to obtain some benefits from India for EU trade,” he said.

The total value of India’s shrimp exports in 2015-16 was a little over $3 billion (about Rs. 20,000 crore). Of this, the European Union accounted for $970 million (about Rs. 6,300 crore) The EU is the third-

“The EU is a major market for Indian shrimps. At least 19 per cent of the total exports are directed to this market.

Aquaculture shrimps constitute about 60 per cent of shrimp exports. So any such move would badly affect exports. This would have negative ramifications for the seafood industry,” said Rajen Padhi, Director, Exim consultant and a seafood trader.

Earlier this year the US, the largest importer of Indian marine products, had stepped up testing measures for consignments shipped from India, creating panic among exporters.

12% GST rate impacts seafood exporters' margins.

Seafood exporters say something’s

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

According to Karikkassery, the enforcement of stricter protocols to check the quality of seafood has forced marine processing units to invest around Rs. 8 crores in setting up new testing equipment.

Echoing his view, Abraham Tharakan, a former SEAI national President, said there is no logic behind the restrictions and they would impose an added cost on exporters. “We are a competing country and our rejections are much lower than China, Indonesia and Thailand. It seems to be a trade negotiation tactic to receive some concessions,” said Tharakan.

Not just seafood The seafood industry is not the only one that has been at the receiving end of EU’s non-tariff measures. Indian exports of food items, including fruits, vegetables and cereals, have also been facing challenges in the EU market due to its stringent quality requirements and oftchanging standards.

For instance, the Commerce Ministry is currently trying to convince the EU not to bring down the tolerance level for tricyclazole, a chemical used in India to treat rice, insisting that the move is

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31 producer level by constituting district- and Statelevel committees.

The Centre has urged other coastal States to take similar action.

unwarranted and could significantly hit India’s export of Basmati to the bloc.

“The tolerance level for this fungicide in Japan and the US is much higher than what the EU has in mind (a default level of 0.01 parts per million). The standards set by the EU for food products are often tougher than what could be justified scientifically,” a government official told.

The 28-member EU bloc recently lifted a ban on import of bitter gourd, eggplant, snake gourd and taro leaves three years after imposing it. Although India had immediately taken steps to address concerns around fruit flies and other pests in a few consignments, the EU took its time withdrawing the ban.

Govt certification On its part, the seafood industry is working with the government to find a solution. Ironically, all consignments are exported after being tested in government labs and getting a clearance certificate.

“So, the government has to take equal responsibility along with other stakeholders, if any consignment is detained with any forbidden substance.

The government needs to upgrade the testing infrastructure in its labs,” said Kamlesh Gupta, CMD of West-Coast Group, a prominent seafood exporter.

However, A Jayathilak, Chairman, Marine Products Export Development Authority, said that campaigns/awareness programmes at the producer level have been intensified to encourage producers to follow better management practices.

The Andhra Pradesh government, for instance, has initiated efforts to curtail the use of banned substances at the

As part of its efforts to ensure traceability of marketed products at the root level, MPEDA has initiated action for enrolment of all shrimp farms by the year-end, Jayathilak added.

GST ISSUE Seafood exporters’ profits will be affected as the sale of duty credit scrips will now attract a 12 per cent goods and services tax (GST) compared with a four per cent VAT or a two per cent CST levied earlier.

Duty credit scrips are given as tax reward benefits to exporters under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) introduced in the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 and the Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) and are adjusted against duties payable to the government.

If exporters are unable to use the scrips, they can sell the same to importers as it is freely transferable.

Initially the sale of scrips under MEIS used to attract a four per cent VAT or two per cent CST. Now, the sale of incentives given on free-on-board (FOB) value of exports in form of licence would attract a 12 per cent GST. Earlier, the licence value was adjusted by importers against the customs duty, payments of excise duties and payments of service tax.

Under GST regime, it will be adjusted against the basic customs duty, leading to a reduction in demand for the scrips.

This comes as a big blow for seafood exporters and they are yet to reveal exact loss figures after GST roll-out. Regional President (Odisha), Seafood Exporters Association of India, Ajay Dash said “The exporting industry associations. are facing a lot of problems and have written to the commerce ministry for a continuation of the existing pattern. The ministry is believed to have written to the GST Council to take up the matter in its next meeting.”

Exporters are already operating on a thin margin. Net realisation of sale of scrips has come down to about 87 per cent from 97 per cent earlier. The GST provisions are a great discouragement for exporters.

Entrepreneurs urged to invest in mariculture to enhance fish production A meet on mariculture has urged industrialists to invest money in this sector to enhance fish production.

J. K. Jena, Deputy Director-General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, asked industrialists to come forward and concentrate on mariculture besides their entrepreneurial initiatives in shrimp farming.

Since the Centre is deliberate on eradicating poverty by 2030, it will promote and encourage all initiatives to increase the production in food and nutrition sectors, he said adding that mariculture was one of the best alternatives for ensuring food security in the country, he said.

He was speaking at a function organised at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute to mark 37 years of mariculture research, education and development in the country.

A Gopalakrishnan, Director of CMFRI, said private-public partnership was the need of the hour to boost mariculture.

There is a need to emulate successful mariculture models implemented by the South-East Asian countries where mariculture has grown significantly catering to the food and economic security of those countries. The Chinese model of developing seafood-based products from plant-origin materials such as seaweeds and micro algae can complement the country's requirements on growing demand for seafood, he said.

Apart from the traditional monotonous single species-oriented culture systems, India should go for multiple species in mariculture, he added.

CMFRI is in the process of preparing the guidelines for formulating the National Mariculture Policy to enhance the sea cage fish farming ventures in the country, he added.

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A new chapter for the Indian Coconut Industry

T

he coconut palm provides a substantial export income for many tropical countries, as well as food and drink for home consumption and fuel and shelter. Of the exported products, copra, the dried kernel is a major source of vegetable oil and coconut oil, and shredded and dried kernel is widely used in the bakery and confectionery trades as desiccated coconut. `Copra cake’, left after oil extraction, is a valued animal feed, especially for dairy cattle.

The leading coconut producer nations are the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia. While production from nations such as Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu is relatively

small, the coconut trade is a major source of export revenue for these countries. In some years, copra comprises more than 50% of Vanuatu’s export income.

Coconut production is an integral part of the Indian economy. As per a report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, India is the world's third largest coconut producer.

“In India, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh are the largest producers of coconut” The existence of apt climatic conditions and other factors allow these regions to make major contributions to the country's coconut bank. Various companies

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

producing coir, coconut powder, and desiccated coconut provide economic stability to this country.

There are only two varieties of coconuts; the tall and the dwarf. Tall varieties have a life-span of around 80-90 years and coconut trees of this variety can grow up to a height of 15 to 18 meters. Whereas short varieties have an average life span of around 40 to 50 years and they can grow up to a height of 5 to 7 meters. The tall and short varieties also have their own types which grow in separate parts of the country. Furthermore, there are hybrid varieties of coconut trees aimed at improved fruit quality.

Large-scale coconut production has its own pre-requisites like apt weather conditions, proper soil, and proximity to the sea. To begin with, a coarse sand soil is deemed perfect for coconut plantation.

The plant requires a year-round warm and humid climate, and hence, a close proximity to the sea as well as the equator is required. Lots of sunshine with high humidity levels is suitable for coconut production. Temperatures above 24°C

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Sesotec India Pvt. Ltd.

(Formerly S+S Inspec on India Pvt. td.)

S. No. 81/3/2, NDA Road, Dangat Industrial Estate, Next to Agarwal Godown, Shivane, Pune Maharashtra – 411 023 Tel.: 020- 25293582 /3/4/5 Web.:www.sesotec.in Email: makarand.mandke@sesotec.com, info.india@sesotec.com

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OVER VIEW

in almost all the states is due to the deficient monsoon, especially in Kerala, where majority of coconut cultivation is under rainfed conditions. In coconut gardens that have irrigation facilities and follow scientific management practices, production has not been severely affected.

and an average annual rainfall of around 150 cm a year is also crucial for largescale coconut plantation. Coconut trees are rarely seen in low humidity areas and the plant does not survive for too long in cold conditions. In fact, freezing and frosty conditions prove to be fatal for the plant. The tree does not bear fruit amidst unsuitable weather conditions.

Coconuts, once fully mature, generally fall from the tree and are easily collected thereafter. A coconut has countless uses and each part of the produce has its own distinct purpose(s). The kernel, the shell, and the husks, all have different purposes.

Coconut water, coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut jam, charcoal, handicrafts, fuel are among the few uses of coconut.

“Coconuts are exotic and edible fruits which are a part of the daily diets of millions of people”. The underlying factors behind the production of this amazing fruit should only encourage you to increase your daily dosage of coconut related products. Go ahead, crack it open!

Coconut production According to the Coconut Development Board (CDB) production for agriculture year 2016-17 hasd been estimated at 20,789 million nuts, 6.22 per cent

lower than the previous year. The Board conducted a survey in the major coconut growing states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

In Andhra Pradesh, only a meager decrease was estimated, which was an indication that the State is returning to normal as far as coconut production is concerned, after being severely impacted by cyclonic storms in 2013 and 2014. The estimate indicated increased production in West Bengal and Maharashtra by 3.96 per cent and 0.37 per cent, respectively.

However, production in the other major coconut growing states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Odisha is estimated to decline. A major decrease in production, at 15.86 per cent and 10.38 per cent, is estimated in Gujarat and Odisha respectively. The four major southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh contributed almost 91 per cent of the country’s production, indicated a comparatively lower decrease at 8.47 per cent, 5.85 per cent, 5.17 per cent and 0.81 per cent respectively.

“In India, the highest productivity of 13,617 nuts/ha is estimated in Andhra Pradesh. The lowest productivity, at 5782 nuts/ha, was projected in Odisha.”

In Kerala, Kozhikode has the highest productivity with 11,972 nuts/ha, followed by Malappuram (11,840 nuts) and Thrissur (11,218 nuts). The lowest productivity of 1,856 nuts/ ha has been reported from Idukki.

The decline in production

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

Coconut product exports In 2017, India’s export of value added coconut products crossed Rs. 2,000 crore, a success that came on the back of increased shipments of fresh coconuts, coconut oil and desiccated coconuts.

Provisional figures from the Coconut Development Board specified that exports touched almost Rs.2, 300 crore, which represented a 58 per cent growth over last year’s figure of Rs.1, 450 crore. And China is a big buyer.

“Amazingly, China has arisen as the leading importer of fresh coconuts from India: it imported nearly 40,000 tonnes of the 1 lakh tonnes exported from India.

In contrast, India exported 40,000 tonnes of fresh coconuts in all of 2015-16. Last year, China was not a major player” Besides fresh coconuts, the export figures in respect of coconut oil and desiccated coconut were particularly impressive.

Coconut oil exports were approximately 40,000 tonnes this year, against 8,560 tonnes in 2016, while desiccated coconut shipments were three times higher at almost 15,000 tonnes, against 4,260 tonnes last year. Many attribute the strong export performance to the price competitiveness of value-added coconut products, particularly in comparison with international rates in the first eight months of 2017.

Coconut oil in bulk was mainly exported to Malaysia, followed by Indonesia and Sri Lanka, whereas coconut oil in consumer packs was mainly shipped to the UAE, Myanmar and Saudi Arabia. Other valueadded products such as activated carbon, virgin coconut oil, dry coconut, copra, and coconut shell charcoal were major contributors to the export basket.

“Given this encouraging trend in exports, it is expected that the growth momentum will be sustained in the coming year and exports are expected to touch Rs. 3,500 crore in 2018” The low price of coconut oil in the domestic market during the first half of 2017 contributed to the rise in exports

OVER VIEW

35 In Tamil Nadu, 4 desiccated coconut Powder processing unit with a capacity to process 1,70,000 nuts per day and 3 virgin coconut oil units for processing 1,85,000 coconut per day were sanctioned.

In Andhra Pradesh, 4 milling copra making units with a capacity to process 40,000 coconuts per day and 4 ball copra making units with a capacity to process 29 lakh coconuts per year were sanctioned.

GST takes effect on Coconut exports The implementation of 12 per cent Goods and Service Tax (GST) on desiccated Coconut has affected the production and exports. Desiccated coconut is widely used in the making of biscuits and cookies.

of coconut oil in bulk as well as in the branded segment. The drop in raw nut production and raw material shortage in the Philippines and Indonesia owing to climatic changes enabled India to emerge as a major exporter to China.

Another factor that upgraded the Indian market was the excess rains in the Philippines and Indonesia due to the La Nina factor had led to crop loss and higher prices of desiccated coconut in the international market. India’s price competitiveness boosted exports of desiccated coconut, which is mainly used for making confectionery and chocolates.

Developing the Coconut industry CDB is all set to develop the coconut board and hence has approved 38 projects with an outlay of Rs. 60.20 crore and financial assistance of Rs.9.086 crore under Technology Mission on Coconut.

The approved projects will have an annual processing capacity of 1912.70 lakh coconuts and 18,000 tonnes production of coconut shell charcoal and 1500 tonnes production of coconut shell based activated carbon.

“Out of 38 sanctioned projects, there were 3 research projects, 32 projects on processing and product diversification, and 3 market promotion” Under the sub component ‘processing and product diversification’, seven projects for desiccated coconut powder for processing 795 lakh nuts per year, 8 virgin coconut oil units for processing 787 lakh nuts per year, 2 Neera processing unit to process 39.6 lakh litres, 2 coconut oil units with a capacity to process 76.50 lakh nuts per

year, 5 copra dryer units with processing capacity of 150 lakh coconuts per year, 4 ball copra making units with processing capacity of 29 lakh coconuts per year, 3 shell charcoal units with a capacity to produce 18,000 tonnes shell charcoal per year and one activated carbon unit with a capacity to produce 1,500 tonnes were sanctioned.

In Kerala, 5 virgin coconut oil processing unit with a capacity to process 77,400 nuts per day, one coconut oil unit for processing 5,500 coconut per day, one desiccated coconut powder making units with a capacity to process 30,000 nuts per day etc. were sanctioned.

In Karnataka, 2 desiccated coconut powder processing units with a capacity to process 65,000 nuts per day and one shell charcoal unit to produce 30 tonnes charcoal per day were sanctioned.

Desiccated Coconut attracted taxes between 0 per cent and 5 per cent in the southern states, where it is mainly produced. The high GST rate was a setback to the industry at a time when both the domestic demand and exports of desiccated coconut have been rising.

India has become price competitive with other major sellers like the Philippines Indonesia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. As a result, the quantity exported has shown a huge increase.

“But now the traders are worried that the high GST rate will make Indian desiccated Coconut uncompetitive in the global market” The high price of Indonesian desiccated Coconut had pushed up India's exports last year. Given the increased acceptance of Indian desiccated coconut, the Coconut Development Board has set an export target of 50000 tons by 2020-21.

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DEGITAL INDIA

The journey of Indian consumers from kiranas to online carts

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

DEGITAL INDIA

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DEGITAL INDIA

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F

ood and grocery retailing online Food and its products retailing took a gigantic leap in India when organised retail started with the setting up of medium to large format stores, including hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores. The success factors of these stores largely depend on the location, catchment area they serve and their costs — capital cost and lease rent. But with time, many closed down due to high cost.

And the next big push for grocery and food retailing came with the internet revolution. One of the first businesses in the e-commerce space was online retailing of grocery and food.

The online grocery market in India is estimated at $150 million only, which is a fraction of the total grocery market of $360 billion. The total grocery market is expected to grow to $1 trillion by 2020. If we estimate online grocery to be even 1%, the expected growth would be tremendous.

“Online food retailing has seen a growth in recent years with easier availability of smartphones and better internet penetration, same reasons which drove online shopping and e-commerce as a whole” The year 2017 promises much more action with online grocery market set for a big bang entry of Amazon and Flipkart this year. The existing players including BigBasket, Grofers and Jugnoo are also looking to expand their presence.

Amazon is investing around $500 million in the food retailing segment in India and there has been similar foreign direct investment proposals by BigBasket and Grofers also. Flipkart will be making a

re-entry into the online grocery market during this quarter.

Amazon is set to kick-start online food retail in India during the Diwali season this year. The e-commerce giant might also launch a private label in near future to market local produce and packaged food products from third parties.

As of now, the US-based online shopping giant sells grocery items through Amazon Pantry in certain cities from, sourcing inventory from third-party sellers. It also provides same day grocery delivery services through its Amazon Now application which works in collaboration with retail stores like Big Bazaar and Hypercity. Venturing into the online food retail segment, it will now sell directly to customers.

Even if Amazon goes on to open brickand-mortar stores for retailing grocery items in future, it will have to face challenge from already existing retail chains like Big Bazaar, and such. With FDI proposals for Grofers and BigBasket also being approved alongside Amazon's, the company will face challenges in the online retail sector too.

“The online food and grocery delivery market alone is estimated to be around $600 million in India and is pegged to touch $5 billion by 2020 at a CAGR of 72%. This market has been largely dominated by three key players Amazon, BigBasket and Grofers with many others closing down their operations such as PepperTap.” The reason why online grocery business works well is because of the convenience it offers to buyers and the deals offered by online grocers. Many of the existing established players are preparing to enter the online grocery business.

They have already created their online channels and could become a huge challenge for start-ups.

For instance, Reliance Fresh has started its online grocery business and is currently running a media campaign in Bengaluru.

BigBasket is concentrated in around 25 cities and have no plans to expand further. The company reported a loss of `277

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

crore on revenue of `563 crore for and has plans to raise fresh round of funding to expand its infrastructural facilities.

Amazon Now has been operational in just four cities. It has plans to enter into newer territories. The company is now gearing to expand the service to more pin codes in these cities as well as extend it to many other cities in the next few months.

“The hype over the F&G online delivery segment seems to have died down with stability returning to the business models. The space is little more mature than in the past from both the demand and supply side.”

Companies have experimented with various models and are getting a hang of what consumers want while they realise this is an effective platform. The big challenge in the grocery delivery segment is the hyperlocal nature of this business which puts considerable strain in setting up the logistics and storage facilities.

Added to this, per unit cost of delivery is high even as the consumption from individuals remains stable.

“Online food retail is a high repeat and easy-to-buy category and no wonder more players are looking at it” Despite Challenges Indian Online Grocery Retailing Online grocery retailing is a capital intensive channel because of the need for cold storage. However, despite this challenge faced by this channel, it is here to stay. Despite the pros and cons, online retail is posed with retailers are working hard to drive revenue and ensure online retail witnesses growth in the long run.

“India will be the primary growth driver of online grocery retailing within Asia Pacific” In 2016, India was the fifth largest market in Asia Pacific for online grocery retailing at US$135 million. The leading country was China, followed by Japan and South Korea. Despite the channel being relatively new in India, it was amongst the top five countries in Asia Pacific in 2016 in terms of growth.

The Indian consumer base, similar to the global consumer base; is living in an internet based world, where everything is available online, including ordering food from a restaurant, to getting medicines delivered or even getting salon services

DEGITAL INDIA

done at home. Despite the strong foothold of kirana stores in India, which will continue to be a dominant format, online grocery retail will soon be recognised as an important distribution channel. “E-commerce in food and grocery in India registered a value growth of 44% on a year on year basis in 2016, and is expected to continue being the fastest growing for the next five years as well.�

Online grocery retailing in the next five to ten years will become one of those distribution channels, which every grocery FMCG company, manufacturers and retailers both, will be eyeing. The Government of India’s initiatives and work towards making the country a cashless economy [and consumers spoilt for choice], will also facilitate growth of this channel.

Three business models co-exist in India The online grocery distribution channel in India works on three types of models.

In the first one, the inventory model, the online retailer stocks the inventory

and manages it based on demand. In the hyperlocal model, the retailer collects orders and then buys inventory from various other retailers, the main function being aggregation and distribution. The mixed model assumes some inventorycarrying and some sourcing from other retailers after orders have been received.

One of the most successful online grocery retailers in 2016 in India, namely BigBasket.com, follows inventory based model. The company has its own inventory and manages it based on everyday demand.

The company promotes itself heavily and focuses strongly on delivery. It continues to be the poster boy for online grocery shopping in India. In 2016, they hired ShahRukh Khan, one of the most sought after Bollywood celebrity, to endorse its brand.

For urban consumers, who are tech-savvy and are time starved, this brand came as a breath of relief.

Companies such as Grofers.com, ZopNow. com, GrocerMax.com, NaturesBasket. com and Liscous.com amongst others follow the hyperlocal model and are often termed as hyperlocals as well. In this model, the hyperlocal receives the order and buys items from store based retailers, collects them in one place and delivers it to the consumer.

Though this model is less capital intensive, it has more operational challenges as compared to the inventory based model. Most of the companies following this model suffer due to unavailability of all products in the order, hence are unable to deliver all the items on time.

And finally, the third kind is companies like LocalBanya. com who use a

39 mixed model. As the name suggests the company uses a bit of both mentioned models. However, in order to maintain the costs, the inventory is generally relatively smaller in size as compared to companies that have adopted the inventory based model.

Challenges The business models which seemed to work in a country like India were inventory based and mixed model. This was observed, as order management, product availability, delivery time and overall freshness of the products delivered was handled relatively better by companies who had some form of inventory. Due to the nature of the products, curating products from other retailers was not very successful.

However, the high cost associated with cold storage management was and will continue to be a major challenge for companies managing inventory. Unlike non-grocery retailers, online grocers cannot have a marketplace model for any of their fresh foods. Furthermore, perishability of the products makes it time bound to be delivered.

The second biggest challenge faced by online grocers is the preference of kirana stores in India. This is not only limited to rural India; it is also prevalent in urban India. The dominance of kirana stores was and will continue to stay strong.

Most of the benefits provided by online grocery retailers are already provided by kirana stores as well. Hence, the choice of retailer will continue to be determined by the preference of the consumer.

Thus some key challenges that needs to be addressed: Inventory costs and logistics management Inventory-carrying costs especially for cold storage could be high and can create financial bottlenecks. The key to higher earnings is therefore to manage inventory efficiently and ensure timely delivery to customers. It is important to have an investment plan for cold storage facilities so that the cost can be phased out.

Further, adequate training of manpower in logistics and distribution would help realise better efficiencies and result in customer delight which in turn would propel repeat purchases.

Sustained competition from kirana stores Many kirana stores have also resorted to telephonic orders and online orders. They

DEGITAL INDIA

40 have upgraded their inventory model and reduced their delivery time to the customer. In rural areas, online purchases still do not exist. Hence it would be necessary for the online retailer to improve the customer experience through latest technology and provide other incentives to ensure that the customer experience results in more loyalty.

Online retailing of food and grocery will continue to grow over the next five years

with the entry of more players. While kirana stores would continue to dominate, their share in the total grocery and food retail business in the country would come down in favour of online retailing.

But it will grow……

Companies who invest in quality cold storage and a strong delivery system including training and management of delivery staff will benefit in the long term. Additionally, investing in long term

liaisons with farmers directly will reduce operational cost.

To the consumer, it makes no difference, as long as the product availability, timely delivery, and pricing is as per their expectations, however, from an operational standpoint the models are vastly different. Hence companies who plan to invest in quality logistics and inventory will emerge as the market leaders.

Indian retail Industry

The Indian retail industry has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast-paced industries due to the entry of several new players. It accounts for over 10 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and around 8 per cent of the employment. India is the world’s fifth-largest global destination in the retail space.

The retail market is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10 per cent to US$ 1.6 trillion by 2026 from US$ 641 billion in 2016. While the overall retail market is expected to grow at 12 per cent per annum, modern trade would expand twice as fast at 20 per cent per annum and traditional trade at 10 per cent, while the e-commerce market is expected to reach US$ 700 billion by 2020. Online retail is expected to be at par with the physical stores in the next five years.

India has replaced China as the most promising markets for retail expansion, supported by expanding economy, coupled with booming consumption rates, urbanizing population and growing middle class.

India is expected to become the world’s fastest growing e-commerce market, driven by robust investment in the sector and rapid increase in the number of internet users. Various agencies have high expectations about growth of Indian e-commerce markets. Indian e-commerce sales are expected to reach US$ 120 billion by 2020 from US$ 30 billion in 2016. Further, India's e-commerce market is expected to reach US$ 220 billion in terms of gross merchandise value (GMV) and 530 million shoppers by 2025, led by faster speeds on reliable telecom networks, faster adoption of online services and better variety as well as convenience.

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Agro & Food Processing September 2017

NEW TECHNOLOGY

41

Hydroponics: the future of farming The United Nations predicted that the world population will grow to 9.6bn by 2050 and 70% of the population will live in cities.

T

he United Nations predicted that the world population will grow to 9.6bn by 2050 and 70% of the population will live in cities. However, such a population increase comes hand in hand with the need to produce more food to feed them. Some estimates suggest 70% more food will be needed. But with 80% of cultivated land already in use and the rapid urbanisation of countries set to continue, the challenge of producing more food in a sustainable way will become even more pressing.

The

biggest

challenge

for

global

agriculture today is producing enough food to meet the demands of the world’s exploding population. The present global population of seven and a half billion could reach the 10 billion mark as early as 2050. It currently takes only four days to add a further million people to the population or 12 years to increase the population by 1 billion.

According to FAO global hunger data, more than 10% – about 800 million people are undernourished and do not have enough food to lead healthy, active lives.

The vast majority of these people live in

developing countries where about 13% of the population is undernourished, with the highest percentage (25%) residing in sub-Saharan Africa.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data shows that the global military expenditure in 2012 of US$1,7 trillion was more than a thousand times higher than the US$1,6 billion allocated to agricultural support programmes (OECD estimates for 2016).

Therefore, primary global challenges include food insecurity, military defence issues, water and land scarcity,

NEW TECHNOLOGY

42

while facing sharp increases in the costs of energy, labour, mechanisation, and fertilisers.

urbanisation, and energy demands.

One solution is hydroponic technology, a niche method of food production that allows producers to grow plants without soil. A subset of hydroculture, this method uses mineral nutrient solutions to feed plants in water without the need for soil.

Greatest challenges Plants need water, air, energy (light), a suitable climate and certain nutrients to grow, and this will have to be addressed if we want to deal with future food supply challenges. Water is arguably the greatest of the four main global challenges.

World Health Organization statistics show agriculture uses about 70% of the available freshwater on our planet. This scenario is unsustainable in the long-run and requires renewed focus on efficient water use. The aim should be to convert tons of food produced per hectare to tons of food produced per cubic meter of water used for production.

Available areas of farmland suitable for crop production are declining at tremendous rates, exacerbating the challenges involved in meeting the food demands of the future.

In addition, FAO data shows that 54% of the global population is already living in urban areas. This figure is expected to rise to more than 60% before mid-century, and more than 80% by the end of the century.

Urban spread in the form of mega cities, as well as areas required for roads, railways, airports and industries, will impact negatively on agricultural land needed for food production. It will also lead to other challenges such as the daily supply, distribution, and preparation of food, which has to be brought in from rural areas or other countries around the world.

By the end of this century, farmers will need to produce double the amount of food with less water and land, using less energy,

A new approach is therefore necessary to sustain our planet. We need to advance our expertise in plant production, food technology, sustainable management of natural resources, as well as the natural environment.

The primary challenge will be to safely provide more food to allow people to maintain a good quality of life, while also maintaining a healthy planet.

The Hydroponic technology Hydroponic and greenhouse technology involves intensive plant production techniques that are all well placed to meet the challenges ahead. This technology includes many new methods of food production such as aquaponics, aeroponics, rural and indoor crop production systems, vertical farming, seawater greenhouses, and many more.

Development of these technologies are at an advanced stage, and some of the systems are already in full production to meet food production demands of the future with methods, plants, and animals that will be vastly different to those used today.

Although current food production systems are moving in the right direction, they will be unsustainable in the longrun. In the future, agriculture will need to develop alternative production systems that will be more efficient in terms of water, energy and labour use, to produce safe, nutritious food in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly way.

Hydroponics – growing plants without soil has been used commercially for almost a century and has proven to be highly waterefficient, especially when combined with modern greenhouse technology.

Soilless farming is the technique of cultivating plants

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

by eliminating traditional soil media and using other substrates (like coco peat, gravel, etc.,) instead. This can be performed under controlled environment and can be established anywhere independent of land availability and soil fertility. Hydroponics is one such soilless cultivation method that is becoming popular in this century. This word is derived from Greek which means “Water working”.

In Hydroponics roots of the plants are kept immersed in the nutrient solution so that the plants receives all micro and macro nutrients though the nutrient solution.

Aggregate type hydroponic system have an artificial solid medium such as coco peat, LECA( Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate), gravel, perlite, pumice, Rockwool, etc. for supporting plants.

Many countries are adopting this technique of farming now. About 20,00025,000 hectares of land are currently under hydroponic development globally, supplying 6 to 8 billion dollars’ worth of produce.

Types of Hydroponic Systems (i) Ebb and Flow (Flood and Drain) method: This method contains a plastic dish container that holds the plants and medium (perlite, rockwool or clay pebbles).The container is kept in nutrient solution periodically for not more than 30 minutes. When the pump shuts, the solution is drained back into the nutrient reservoir through valves at the bottom of the container. (ii) Vertical tube culture: Plastic tubes are assigned vertically which is filled with light weighted aggregates.

Holes are made on all sides of the tube to hold the plants. The nutrient solution is not recycled in this system. (iii) Trickle method:

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NEW TECHNOLOGY

44

Other benefits of hydroponic technology include the ability to better control the plant’s nutrition, a visible improvement in quantity and yields, a shortening of the growth interval for many plants, a high propagation success rate, savings on fertilisers, the absence of pesticides and herbicides, and a more efficient use of space.

This method is similar to drip irrigation as the nutrient solution is dripped onto the base of each plant which is kept in a container with solid media by a small drip line. The excess nutrient solution that runs off is collected back in the reservoir for reuse.

Hydroculture subset: what are the benefits?

The earliest published work on growing plants without soil was Francis Bacon’s 1627 book Sylva Sylvarum. Water culture quickly became a popular research technique following the publication, but it was not until the 1920s that the idea really took hold.

In 1929, William Frederick Gericke of the University of California at Berkeley began promoting the idea that solution culture could be used for agriculture crop production. Gericke was able to grow tomato vines to a height of 25ft in his garden using mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil. In the present day, this technology is being used worldwide.

Using hydroponic technology to produce plants has a number of benefits when compared with traditional cultivation methods. In hydroponics, the roots of the plant have constant access to an unlimited supply of oxygen, as well as access to water. This is particularly important as a common error when growing food is over or under-watering. Hydroponics eliminates this error margin, as quantities of water, mineral salts, and oxygen are controlled.

As the world’s population continues to grow, it is this last point that makes the technology such a useful one.

Hydroponically grown plants have faster growth, that reduces crop duration, as the root tips are directly into the nutrient rich solution, they get what they need more easily than plants grown in soil. These plants are free from troublesome weeds, many soil borne pest and diseases so there is no need for any harmful insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc.

Higher yield can be obtained in smaller area with good quality produces. Off season production is possible through this system and arable land is decreasing in India, this offers an opportunity.

Carbon footprints: sustaining the population Hydroponics has the potential to sustain a large proportion of the world’s population and to allow third world countries to feed their own people, even in places where soil is poor and water is scarce.

The technology can also be used as a valuable source of food production in places where space is scarce.

In Guangzhou, China, 14 hydroponic tanks have been installed on a rooftop

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

measuring 1,600ft², producing hundreds of pounds of vegetables every year. The tanks are part of a study that is trying to show residents and developers in the Chinese city that their rooftops have the potential to produce a steady supply of vegetables that may even be cheaper than store-bought alternatives. The results of the study outline a comprehensive business model for hydroponic rooftop farming, a method that is already in use across the US, Canada, and Europe.

By 2020, Guangzhou’s population is expected to almost double, from 9.62 million in 2010 to 15.17 million. With this population expansion, there is a need to produce more food, create jobs, and reduces the carbon footprint of transporting food into cities.

There is a need for rooftop farms not only in Chinese cities, but all major cities that have the resources (rooftop spaces, water, sunlight) and yet are heavily dependent on food produced long distances away.”

Being able to grow and produce food within cities for urban populations eliminates the carbon footprint generated through the transport of food from rural areas to city centres.

Food production: growing a garden New York, Chicago, and Montreal have all seen some success with rooftop hydroponic farms. Gotham Greens has four rooftop hydroponic greenhouses in New York and Chicago that produce leafy greens, herbs, and tomatoes. Canadabased company Lufa Farms was credited with opening the world's first commercial rooftop greenhouse in 2011 and now boasts a second greenhouse in the city, which yields 120tn of produce every year.

As consumer demand for sustainably produced (and sourced) food continues to

NEW TECHNOLOGY

grow, rooftop hydroponic farms like these ones in North America should continue to pop up in cities across the world.

Rapid urbanisation in countries such as China and the resulting decrease in land available for agricultural activities will force populations to come up with novel ideas and technologies to cater for larger populations in smaller spaces.

The progression of hydroponic technology since Gericke first promoted the idea in the late 1920s has made soilless farming possible within urban environments. This simple but effective method is essential in addressing the issue of sustainable food supplies as the world’s population continues to expand.

Why Hydroponics in India Is Important Sustainable farming solutions in countries with arid climates such as India have caused an increased interest in hydroponic farms. Furthermore, because of its economic feasibility and ability to serve as a possible solution to India’s dwindling availability of fertile soil or clean and surplus water, this practice of agriculture resolves many of the issues that challenge year-round growing.

Combined with drought conditions and the vagaries of global warming, Indian agriculturalists are fighting a drastic reduction in the availability of locally grown food for India's large population.

Pioneers in India propose hydroponics as a solution that can change the way horticulture is done there.

As of July 2016, only 30,000 hectares (ha) have polyhouse structures (also known as a ‘hoop house’) or covered cultivation in India, while the national average for vegetable yields in India is 17 tons/ha; in developed countries it is more than 40 tons/ha.

The latest available figures, state that only 17% of India's agricultural land is used for horticultural crops, giving a total of 270.46M metric tons of horticulture production. This makes the availability of vegetables per day per person just 374 grams.

In a study performed by the National Restaurant Association of India and Technopak, India's food services market is estimated at $48B. In five years, it is estimated to increase to $78B. How to meet this projected increase will largely depend on the amount of land provisioned

for covered food cultivation and the technologies incorporated.

If lettuce were grown in India today, it could be 30% cheaper than imported and provide large positive, social impacts to the economy. Imported cherry tomatoes can cost Rs 1,000/ kg; if domestically produced, cherry tomatoes could be priced as low as Rs 200. Exotic vegetable production is highly suitable for the hydroponic farmer.

Introducing an assured market with consumers, the exotic vegetable market includes produce such as golden beetroots, Caribbean peppers, thirteen varieties of lettuce, asparagus, artichokes, fennel, and Okahijiki, Japanese land seaweed, is increasing.

India is currently importing more than 85% of its exotic vegetables, creating a growth rate of 15-20% per year.

Certainly, hydroponics can help fuel this growth given the farming expertise that exists in India.

Challenges…with opportunities Innate to soil based agriculture, there are certainly challenges relevant to hydroponics. Issues facing the use of hydroponics in India include droughts and unpredictable weather, rising temperatures, polluted water systems, lack of irrigation, poor water management, and high freight costs from India.

Actually Indian consumer is ready to purchase hydroponically grown food

45 within India. This customer market includes retail and hotel, and fast food chains, railway catering, foreign food service companies, NGO’s, and defense establishments. The following further supports how hydroponics is a lucrative opportunity to deploy in India: • India has rich climatic conditions positioning it favorably for market hydroponic produce • Labor costs are favorable with intelligent human capital • An abundant growth market already exists due to India's large population • In depth knowledge of crop cycles, food safety and pest management, and hydroponic methodologies exists In India, the central and state governments have subsidized the capital costs for farmers willing to invest in hydroponics.

Exact subsidy applicable is different for each state. Recently Maharashtra government has provided 50% subsidy to farmers to adopt hydroponics for growing animal fodder.

There was a shortage of 25,000 metric tonne fodder in Marathwada region and alternative models were then promoted. A structure made of bamboo for promoting “hydroponics” created by tribal of Gadchiroli in Vidarbha, also got a boost with the government promoting it.

Maharashtra has its modified locally made apparatus to germinate seeds. Tribal in Gadchiroli are trained to make the shelf with bamboo trays. The trays hold water which percolates from top to bottom

46 soaking the cereals which turns into sprout and saplings within 8 to 10 days.

Cereals such as maize, wheat, jowar or bajra are kept in the tray and flow of water is controlled, at a suitable temperature. In eight days, sprouts spring to life and grow taller. It can be a nutritious animal fodder.

With growing awareness on soil-free diseases from vegetables and fruits in the city, Gurgaon adopts soilless farming to grow chemical-free vegetables. Residents are asking for more soil-less vegetables that are free from harmful chemical residue.

And, with a view to providing the city with safe and healthier vegetables, the Haryana horticulture department has commissioned a project at Panchgaon and Manesar, located 16km from the city.

The initiative is aimed at growing soilless vegetables and getting them supplied to the residential societies across the city.

The focus is on growing vegetables minus the harmful effects of pesticides. The project was launched in January 2016.

Those engaged in this effort are trying to grow vegetables and fruits such as

NEW TECHNOLOGY

cucumber, tomato, capsicum, strawberry, lettuce and other leafy varieties Non-fruit bearing vegetables takes less than 15 days to grow, while the ones that bear fruit take about a month to grow. While it costs Rs 60 lakh to grow soil-less vegetables over a one-acre area, the cost goes down if they are grown in a lesser space.

At present, tomatoes, basil and parsley are being grown on a one-acre plot and a huge advantage of soil-less farming is that it doesn’t allow nematodes (roundworm or threadworm) to affect food crops or vegetables. The nematodes that inhabit the soil not only damage the stems, but also impair the foliage and flowers. The vegetables damaged by these worms could be harmful for health.

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

In Hydroponics, all vegetables are grown in a uniform space and the coconut fibre does not retain excessive water. Fertilisers and pesticides are not required as the vegetables are grown in a controlled environment.

The demand for safer and healthier food has prompted the use of new technologies and scientific research to grow fruits and vegetables without chemicals.

Latest trends The latest trends in hydroponic farming include a rapid increase in urban agriculture, including rooftop greenhouses; Seawater greenhouses in which crops are produced using seawater; Vertical farms utilising rainwater and grey water for irrigation, solar energy, energy-efficient LED lighting, and full climate control under sterile conditions to produce crops of the highest quality.

Plant factories are becoming common practice in some of the world’s major cities.

NEWS

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New program launched to boost startups in agricultural sector

T

he National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) launched "AGRI UDAAN" programme in which selected startups will be trained to develop innovative agriculture products. Director of NAARM, Srinivasa Rao said the startups will learn about different aspects of capacity building such as technology commercialisation, business plan preparation, and finance management. "There are many ideas in the minds of the youth but they have to be turned into reality. Under the AGRI UDAAN programme, startups will be mentored to scale up their operations in agriculture value chain.”

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad's (IIM-A) Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) is also a part of the programme. Deputy Director General (Education) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), N.S. Rathore said India is expected to produce 272 million tonnes of food grain this year but the scope of value addition and processing is limited. “If we cannot do value addition, then we are lagging behind. We had implemented the programme on small-scale in 2015, in which three

startups managed to materialise their ideas into innovative products. The programme will also help in increasing farmers' income.

Through this programme, we can nurture the entrepreneurial skills among people, especially the youths.

They would be told about the opportunities and how to avail them. It will help them in arranging finance for their businesses."

cities such as Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.

The six-month programme will consist of theory and practical, and a shortlisted group of startups will be given training of procurement of raw material, its price management, skill development, trade management and utility management in order to ensure that the innovative ideas take shape of business ventures.

NAARM has decided to promote the programme across the country through online campaigns and road shows in

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Make maximum use of SAMPADA scheme :Badal

M

inister of Union Food Processing Industry Harsimrat Kaur Badal said farmers in Punjab can avail of Rs 10 crore subsidy with establishment of mini food parks, besides availing other benefits through small processing units as part of self-help and cooperative groups. Badal addressed farmers and informed them about the SAMPADA programme aimed to distribute Rs 6,000 crore to entrepreneurs and farmers to add value to food products in the next three years. She said it has never occurred in Indian history wherein farmers had been incentivized to such a large scale to become entrepreneurs in their own right.

Union FPI minister said while large farmers

could join mega food parks where they could get subsidy of Rs 5 crore. They could even establish their own mini parks or get together to set up stand alone food processing units for which subsidy would be provided. She had spoken with a consulting company to help farmers to make their project reports and avail of other technical information needed to apply for benefits under SAMPADA. There was lot of scope for vegetable processing with overseas markets also opening up for farmers.

The minister also briefed farmers about the World Food India Fair being held on November 3-5 in Delhi. Badal said the fair would work as a catalyst to boost food production as farmers could get needed investment and partnerships by participating in the event. Food processing companies as well as those representing the cold chain would participate in the fair and would provide turnkey solutions to farm entrepreneurs. Though the state government

was yet to respond to the invite, she felt Punjab farmers should not lose this opportunity and participate in the fair.

Pumping Rs 6,000 crore in food sector, India was likely to attract an investment of around Rs 31,000 crore in this sector. She said this would lead to processing worth Rs one lakh crore and create direct and indirect jobs for around five lakh farmers besides employing around five lakh youth.

Badal highlighted retail sector had become a six billion dollar market and the food sector alone constituted 70 per cent of this market.

She requested farmers to explore vegetable farming because there was a huge demand for vegetable cultivation, including tomatoes.

Companies were ready to give the required support to make this a profitable venture for farmers.

Potato Processing Market estimated to touch 30.85 bn USD by 2022

G

lobal Potato Processing Market is projected to reach USD 30.85 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 5.3% during the forecast period. The potato processing market indicates a major growth due to the rise in demand for applications such as snack foods and prepared ready meals and with the increase in consumer preferences for convenience foods to save time and efforts. Increase in the number of retail channels such as hypermarkets and supermarkets, rapid growth of the fast food industry, industrialization policies initiated by governments to develop economies such as India and China. These factors are expected to drive the growth of Potato Processing Market during the forecast period.

Frozen potato products are considered as the most widely used potatoes because of their extended shelf life and the lesser time required for meal preparation. The increasing demand for French fries in regions such as Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and South America due to the expansion of quick service restaurants (QSRs) and retail channels are growth factors attributed. Foodservice segment accounted for a larger share of the Potato Processing Market, in terms of value and volume in 2016.

McDonald's, Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts, and Subway are some of the major QSRs contributing to the growth of the frozen potato market.

Rising number of national and international

brands in the hotel industry along with high support the growth of potato chips market in contribution of quick service restaurants is this region. expected to drive the demand during the forecast period.

Asia-Pacific market is projected to gain highest CAGR during forecast time. The most dominant factor in the region affecting the Potato Processing Market is the dense population across most of the countries, coupled with the high production of potatoes.

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Agro & Food Processing September 2017

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I

Agriculture exports likely to touch USD 100 bn by 2022

ndia’s agricultural sector has potential to double farmer income and grow exports to USD 100 billion by 2022 from the present USD 36 billion, industry experts have claimed.

Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) President Rajju Shroff said, “India ranks second globally in agricultural production at USD 367 billion and we have potential to double farmer income and increase exports to USD 100 billion by 2022. Globally, exports in agricultural products are over USD 1,500 billion annually as per the latest data from WTO and Indias share is less than USD 35 billion at present."

"We have urged the government to increase focus on trebling Indias share in agri exports to double farmer income by 2022," Shroff is also MD of United Phosphorus Ltd. A report prepared by city based not-for-profit organisation Centre for Environment and Agriculture (Centegro), also emphasised the

M

need to raise Indias share in global agri exports to increase farmers income automatically.

The report was prepared in association with experts from Tata Strategic Management Group was released by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari recently.

India ranks second globally in agricultural production, whereas in services and manufacturing sectors Indias position stands at 11th and 12th respectively. Agricultures contribution to India's economy extends beyond the rural economy and encompasses many activities in manufacturing and services sector. Export surplus from the countrys agricultural trade is higher than the corresponding figure achieved by the manufacturing sector, the report said.

The report urged the government to launch Grow in India campaign aiming for substantial gains in agri-exports with a single authority to monitor India's international agricultural trade-both exports and imports.

The study demystified popular notions

about farmers injecting hormones, colouring chemicals into fruits and vegetables improve colour and size in watermelons and pomegranate. Organic farming is not sustainable because of low yield and need for huge amount of unavailable manure. Farmers spend on crop protection chemicals is just 1 per cent of the value of total agriculture production, it said.

The health scare about pesticide residues in food is a malafide campaign propagated by foreign funded NGOs in order to tarnish Indian agriculture, the report said. “Traditionally used yield per acre for crops is an unfair measure of Indian farm productivity. Globally, India is the largest producer of milk, second largest in fruits, vegetables & fish and third largest in egg production in the world. This is all due to small and marginal farmers who deploy family labour and engage in intensive multi cropping all year round. They also manage livestock & poultry efficiently using agriculture waste as animal feed and to produce manure," Shroff said.

Frozen Jackfruit by Mother Dairy’s Safal launched in Delhi-NCR

other Dairy Fruits and Vegetables Pvt launched frozen jackfruit under its Safal brand for consumers in Delhi and NCR region in a 300-gram packet

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priced at Rs 40 with a shelf-life of one year.

The other frozen vegetables being sold are peas, corn and mixed entities, besides frozen snacks and dehydrated onions and tomato puree, at 420-odd Safal booths in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar.

Mother Dairy’s Safal Business Head Pradipta Kumar Sahool said, “The frozen jackfruit is introduced for the first time in the country. It is precut vegetable, takes away the hassle of peeling and removing of latex and saves cooking time.” It will be sold in a 300-gram packet at Rs 40 and is priced reasonably as high hygienic and safety standards are adhered to while processing. The new product will be available at 350-400 Safal booths as well as general and modern retail stores in Delhi-NCR.The jackfruit, high in fibre and other vitamins, will be sourced from Jharkhand is one of the top 10

Sugar & Flours CASTER SUGAR, DEMERARA SUGAR, ICING SUGAR, SELF RAISING SUPERFINE FLOUR, CORN FLOUR & MAIDA ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

growers in the country and processed up to 100 tonnes this year at its Ranchi unit for sale in Delhi-NCR. He said, “For pan-India sale, the processing will be done up to 1,000 tonnes, which will happen gradually.” Mother Dairy Chief Research and Development officer T S R Murali said the jackfruit was often discarded from the food basket due to its size, hassle of cutting and latex. Murali expressed confidence of receiving good response from consumers.

“We have tried to address these issues and launched the frozen jackfruit. The shelf life of this product is 12 months.” On other products, especially tomato puree and onion flakes launched recently, there is more demand in view of rise in prices of raw tomato and onions.

India produces 2 million tonnes of jackfruit annually and major growing states are Kerala, Odisha and Jharkhand, among others. Mother Dairy Fruits and Vegetables procures 2.5 lakh tonnes of fruits and vegetables annually from 16 states with a 10,000-farmer base. Besides Ranchi, it has processing plants in Delhi, Bengaluru and Ramgarh. The processing is done at 12 third-party plants in states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Tamil Nadu and exports fruits and vegetables to over 35 countries.

53

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54

After tomato, probable hike in onion prices the monsoon rains. This crop arrives first in Karnataka after mid-August and in Maharashtra after mid-September.

Karnataka produces about 2.7 million tonnes (mt) out of India’s total annual onion output 20-21 mt, and is the third largest state after Maharashtra (6.5 mt) and Madhya Pradesh (2.8 mt).

A

fter tomatoes, onions are next item on the list of food inflation. Since February 2016, onions were sold below Rs 10 per kg in Lasalgaon at average of Rs 4.50-5.50 only this May-June. The mostquoted price in India’s largest market was Rs 5.70 per kg as on July 17. It crossed Rs 10 on July 26 and has doubled more than that since then. Surprisingly this happens in month of Shravan of the Hindu calendar when onion consumption is considerably low. The Delhi market onions are being at sold at an average of Rs 13.75 per kg.

The kharif season sees the growth of onions with sowing that begins in June following

Lasalgaon-based onion trader and exporter ascribed 26 per cent deficient rainfall so far in the current monsoon season for the price rise. “The fresh kharif crop from Karnataka normally starts arriving towards mid-August and peaks by the first week of September. This time, there are reports of a 50 per cent dip in onion acreage in the state and that is what is driving prices. ” Onion prices have increased from Rs 15.80 to Rs 20.20 per kg in South India.

Director, agriculture produce market committee at Lasalgaon, Nanasaheb Patil said “the sudden price jump is only a result of demand and supply factors. Traders expect that the demand for onions from North India

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Agro & Food Processing September 2017

will pick up once the Shravan month gets over after Raksha Bandhan which is August 7. On the other hand, with the drought in Karnataka, there isn’t going to be any immediate source of supply till about mid-September.”

Till date, Maharashtra has reported only around 10,000 hectares of onion planting, against the normal 30,000 hectares during kharif. Sowing has been partly low because of Nashik belt receiving heavy rains during July and un-remunerative prices. That could change in the coming weeks, with both prices and the weather looking up. High domestic prices will ultimately put a brake on exports. In 2016-17, India exported 2.42 mt on onions valued at Rs 3,106.50 crore. During the previous financial year, it was 1.38 mt and Rs 3,097.21 crore, respectively.

CONCOR to establish cold storage unit in Nashik

C

ontainer Corporation of India (CONCOR) plans to set up a cold storage unit at Lasalgaon near Nashik for storage of onions and other perishable produce. The foundation stone for the cold storage will be laid jointly by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on July 30.

Central Railway chief PRO Sunil Udasi said the cold storage will benefit farmers and reduce spoilages by 35 per cent. “It will have a total capacity of 2500 MT, of which 1500 MT will be exclusively utilised for onion storage and remaining for other perishable commodities such as fruits and vegetables. This cold storage will be a boon for the farmers of the area, especially the onion growers.”

Railways are a major transporter of onions and play a key role in timely transportation of the commodity to various consumer markets from producer states. To reduce the spoilages, Indian Railways allots the rakes/wagons on priority basis wherever possible for carriage of onion. WR's Chief PRO Ravinder Bhakar said the cold storage is being set up as a CSR project by CONCOR, a Railway undertaking at a cost of Rs 5 crore. “The facility will be maintained by Lasalgaon, Vibhag Cooperative Purchase and Sale Union Ltd.”

NEWS

55

Spices Board, J&K govt. in collaboration to enhance saffron output

S

pices Board along with the Jammu and Kashmir government has teamed up to boost production and improve value addition of the signature Kashmiri spice saffron. India is known to be a leading producer of premium and finest quality saffron in the world and Kashmiri saffron has been a recipient of the Great Taste Award, the world’s most coveted award for artisan and specialty food producers.

The Board and JK govt. are going full throttle to secure GI registration for authentication of high quality saffron from Kashmir. Spices Board Chairman A Jayathilak said “The Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs has initiated the development of Codex standard for saffron at its 3rd session held in Chennai in February 2017. The saffron trade would get a fillip by addressing the issue of post-harvest management, especially for drying and storage, in order to retain the colour, aroma and flavour of the spice. Spices Board has always evinced keen interest in the promotion of saffron in both domestic and international markets, particularly in food, beverage, perfumeries and other segments to enhance the consumption through trade delegations, participation in international

exhibitions and buyer-seller meets.”

Jayathilak said that the Board is promoting set up of common mini-processing facilities and value addition units to improve the marketability of saffron in the saffrongrowing areas by farmer groups.

“We have recently supported a producer group in Pampore by providing Rs 15 lakh as grant-in-aid towards 75 per cent of the cost of machinery and equipment for setting up of mini-processing and value addition unit.”

Aggregation is a major challenge in saffron production and marketing. The Chairman said the formation of spices producers’ societies is being encouraged to boost aggregation of the produce, common processing, value addition, and direct marketing of the spice between growers and exporters, processors and institutional buyers. “Such a measure will help maintain the quality throughout the supply chain and ensure better price realisation for the growers by eliminating the middlemen from the supply chain.”

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Mumbai to welcome South Asia’s only ice cream event Indian Ice-cream Congress (IICE) will be held at Bombay Exhibition Center-NESCO, Goregaon (E) Mumbai on 15-16 September 2017 Mumbai will witness the biggest show ‘IICE 2017’ in history of Ice Cream Industry in South Asia. biggest ice cream show always provides hundreds of ice cream manufacturers from different parts of the country and world to exchange their views on this platform.

I

ncreasing per capita expenditure, rising young population, introduction of world class flavours, changing consumption patterns, is witnessing the steady growth of Indian Ice Cream Industry.

The change in consumer preference from traditional ice cream to premium brands has now created the market base for international companies to launch their premium ice cream brands. The industry is seeing a growth of 35 per cent year-on-year basis, which makes it an attractive destination for international brands. With increasing consumption, the production capacity of ice-creams is set to increase with many manufacturers planning for expansion. Most of the ice cream projects are in expansion mode due to various reasons in this region. Companies are also working on new innovations as Indians are now looking for premium tastes with international quality and standards and IICE from last six years is continuously providing a platform to showcase their abilities.

After a grand success in Noida (Delhi NCR) last year, one of the most significant events in global ice-cream industry, IICE 2017 is scheduled to be held at Bombay Exhibition Center- NESCO, Goregaon(E) Mumbai on 15-16 September. Entering its 7th year, India’s

IICE with an aim of a higher degree of service to its client is laddering growth by 100% year on year. The show includes all that activities which led ice cream industries as well as manufacturers to their peak. The show will be co-organised by IICMA & AIM Events with Blue Star India as its ‘Title Sponsor’.

IICE with its other event partners like Elanpro, 2m Cocoa, Morde Chocolate, DuPont, Mahaan, AE International, California Walnuts, Tetrapak is expecting around 250 exhibitors

Asia’s one & only one ice cream show.

Raw material and Packaging companies like Morde, VKL, E-MoxKavitha Poly Pack, Kanchan Metals Pvt. Ltd., Progressive Polymers, Satnam Flexipac, Delta, Dukes, Mahaan, Taj, Lucid, Orchards Brands, Pellagic Food, Neelkanth Herbs, Fill Pack, Gujrat Enterprises, Carry Cool, Tulsi (K.B.B Nuts), Satnam Flexi- Pac, California Walnuts, Arbuda Kesar Company, DPTL, Mold-Tek Packaging ltd, Tessol, Kapcones, Adani Wimar, Promens, Oror Flavours, Liquid Flavours, Denali, Manik Engineers, AAKAMANI oils, 2M Cocoa, Farmer Fresh, CEC Flavours, Joy n Joy, Garuda Engineers, MF Marketting, Plasto, Amar, Universal Oleoresion Fab Flavours and Print n Pack will display their best of services.

Along with these many more, top ice cream allied companies have already booked their stalls to participate as exhibitors in the expo.

Last year in Noida (Delhi NCR) IICE 2016 received 4000 visitors, 150 exhibitors and over 800 ice cream companies.

and 4000+ visitors from all over the country and different parts of the world, in upcoming show.

According to the organizers of IICE Blue Star, Western Equipments, Voltas Refrigeration, Godrej, Haier, Bitzer, Ace Technology, Bluecold, Consta, IC Ice Make, and Prick India Ltd are the leading companies dealing in refrigeration industry have showed their interest in the event.

Process machinery like Tetra Pak, Target Innovations, ISF, Unique Equipment, Micron, Goma, V-Smart, Bhogal Cycle, Cart Studio, Techofour Electronics Pvt. Ltd, Harvest, Snowball Machinery, Tecknoice, Ice Com and Shruti Icemac Engineers, Bry Air, Mitora Machinex, Lovely Bikes, Sunrise Trolly Manufacturers, Schafer are leading brands who show their interest in

Agro & Food Processing September 2017

According to Sudhir Shah Secretary of IICMA, “this year ice cream industry has witnessed not less than 20 per cent growth and it was one of the best in last one decade”. He also added due to unprecedented growth of the ice cream sector and growing scope of ice cream parlours and franchise trend, IICE 2017 in Mumbai is going receive huge number of visitors.

IICE 2017 is expected to be bigger in size than all previous shows. Indian Ice Cream sector has become one of the fastest growing sectors in Indian food processing industry. Investment in technologies and new trends has broken all previous records in the last 4-5 years.

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RNI No. MAHENG/2005/15987 POSTAL No. THW/50/2017-2019