Agriculture and Food Industry in India 2011

The agriculture and food industry in India has been growing steadily with strong impetus from the government through various initiatives. Sectors that have witnessed strong private participation in the industry include seeds, fertilizer, farm equipments, warehousing, cold chains, food processing and organic foods.

The report begins with an overview of the agriculture and food industry. It provides an introduction to the market and includes information regarding growth in agriculture, food consumption levels as well as the primary factors leading to a growing industry. The value chain in the market has been highlighted and includes the major sectors in the market.
This is followed by an analysis of the seeds sector and provides its total market size and growth figures as well as demand-supply data for seeds of major crops. The development of the seed market over the years has been highlighted with special emphasis on the growth of the agro-biotech sector. Major drivers covered includes government policy initiatives, higher yields and increasing profits, private sector participation while major challenges faced are inconsistent approval system, lack of awareness and knowledge, price control on agri-biotech products, controversies on the use of BT products.

The overall consumption and production figures have been provided for the fertilizer market. Segmented share of Nitrogenous, Phosphatic, Potassium, Complex fertilizers is included with the various subsidies provided by the government. Major drivers analysed includes the shift to nutrient based subsidy, increasing use of other fertilizers, MRP and price decontrol, low penetration per hectare while major challenges faced are inadequate supply of natural gas, ineffective government policies and dependence on potash imports.
The value chain and the major equipments used in agriculture have been highlighted. The section includes the market size and growth as well as the segmented market share of the agricultural equipment market. It further elaborates on the usage of power tillers and tractors, sales of the same and the penetration of agricultural equipments. It includes the regional distribution of the tractor market and highlights the major reasons for growth in each region. An analysis of the drivers explains growth factors such as improved availability of credit, lower penetration of farm equipments, low farm power availability and opportunity in new markets and products. The challenges faced by the market are cost constraints, fragmentation of land and erratic monsoons.

The agricultural warehousing and cold chains segment has been considered. It includes the warehousing markets size and growth as well as the capacity expansion. The overall size and growth figures have also been provided for the cold chains market but it also analyses the major segments, namely surface storage and refrigerated transport, providing its segmented share. Primary drivers including growth in organized retail, shift towards horticultural crops, growth in processed food sector, government initiatives, investments and challenges namely lack of logistical support, uneven distribution of cold chains, cost structure, power supply and inadequate infrastructure & resources have been covered in this section. Major trends have also been highlighted.

The next section covers the food processing sector providing the market size and growth as well as the penetration levels of major products. A brief of each of the segments has been included highlighting the growth rate for the same. An analysis of the drivers explains growth factors such as increasing consumer spend on processed foods, India's competitive edge, growing food retailing in India, government support, growth in food processing exports, growth in terminal markets, low level of penetration in domestic market while the challenges faced by the market are lack of integrated supply chain and scale of operations, limited use of technology in food processing, high taxes on branded agricultural products.
A global comparison has been provided for the organic foods segment with information regarding market segmentation by product. Drivers identified in this segment include increasing health consciousness of the people, huge export market, increasing organized retail, government initiatives while challenges covered are high prices, certification barrier and lack of integrated supply chain.

The report also discusses the segments with the maximum growth opportunities based on investment levels. It also enlists the various PE investments and M&A deals in the market.

A competitive landscape has been provided for each of these sectors which includes information regarding the major players in the market. The Annexure contains a snapshot of their corporation, business highlights and their product portfolio, providing an insight into the existing competitive scenario.