Sumit Saran, Future Group
India: “No-one has given modern retail the ‘five-year’ chance yet,”
Using a bamboo-shoot analogy, Sumit Saran of Indian retailer Future Group said retailers wishing to establish themselves in India must wait five years after ‘planting’ to see any evidence of growth.
“No-one has given modern retail the ‘five-year’ chance yet,” he told Fresh Produce India delegates. “Like bamboo it needs five years before it can show any visible signs of growth. Companies keep pulling out the shoot too early.”
Zespri’s Ritesh Bhimani, Belgian cooperative BFV’s Marc Evrard and several other speakers whose firms have successfully penetrated the Indian market also reiterated the need for patience.
“We took three years to build the Zespri category and the brand, and we see the results after four years,” said Bhimani, who added that its sales to India shot up by 63 per cent in 2014 and are on course to cross the 1m-carton mark this year. “Anyone looking at entering India, please be patient.”
Evrard said BFV had committed to a five-year plan to convince Indian consumers to eat Belgian Conference pears, and that the strategy was paying off.
“The challenging part about the Conference pear is that it looks like a fourth-rate Indian variety,” he told delegates. “It’s a strange shape for them, and they view the brown russetting as a defect. The good news is that consumers like the taste.”
Novelty and taste are key when targeting the country with new products, said Parth Karvat, director of importer Yupaa International, who also spoke at the event.
When looking at India take care to offer “something different”, he said. “Attract the Indian taste buds.”
Food safety is also increasingly important to Indian consumers, and Sanjay Dave (pictured), who recently returned to his role as director of export authority Apeda after being deputed to food safety authority the FSSAI, addressed delegates on the issue.
He appealed to India’s private sector, namely the country’s modern retailers, to come together to develop and implement food safety standards for domestic Indian growers.
“It is extremely important that retailers look at how they source their produce. Retailers must reach out to the farmers, have good agricultural practices implemented, talk to them about pesticides. I would suggest retailers come together and agree on a code of conduct.
“The lead will have to be taken by the organised retail sector, then it will trickle down to the other sectors,” said Dave. “Why should the government always set up these practices and standards? Why shouldn’t retailers set up their own?”
Meanwhile, on the export side, opportunities could lie in Russia for India’s grower-shippers, said Niraj Kumar, managing director of JSC Vial Inter, which imports Indian products into Russia.
Russia has shown renewed interest in Indian produce since Western trade sanctions were imposed, and is looking for supplies of exotic fruits and vegetables, as well as potatoes, grapes and onions – all of which India can offer, he said.
“Mangoes, pomegranates, grapes, potatoes, onions and ginger have a good future in Russia,” he said. “There is also demand for oranges, lychees, papayas, coconuts, baby corn and exotic green vegetables.”
Russia is one of the largest grocery retail markets in Europe, with approximately US$282bn in sales, and modern retail formats account for 64 per cent of the market, Kumar said.
Despite Russia’s current fiscal problems, it is still a market worth exploring, he added, since Russia’s fruit market alone is worth US$5.4bn and food sales are the last to feel the impact of a weakening economy.
Besides the expert presentations and panel discussions at Fresh Produce India, networking was also a key feature, with delegates getting ample time to meet and do business, both throughout the conference and during the networking breaks at Fresh Produce India Expo.
The event concluded with an insightful study tour of two modern retail outlets, Foodhall and Food Bazaar, and one of south Mumbai’s most famous retail markets, Crawford Market.
The conference event, was organised by Asiafruit in association with The SCS Group.
A range of leading local and international companies and organisations sponsored Fresh Produce India 2015, including Fruit South Africa, Asia Fruit Logistica, the Dutch Embassy, Pear Bureau Northwest, Suri Agro Fresh, Zespri, IG International, From, Washington Apple Commission, Goodfarmer, Port of Koper, Sahyadri Farms, and the event’s supply chain partner ILIP.
At the boutique Fresh Produce India Expo, a select number of companies showcased their wares, including AVI Global, Virginia Dept of Agriculture, Washington Apples, Zespri, Billerudkorsnas, Fruit South Africa and Penwalt.