Description
Th e fresh fruits and vegetables (F&V) sector has been a slow mover in the organised retailing space in India. However, in the past few years, F&V selling in modern retail has been picking up pace. Valued at over Rs 2. lakh crore and consumption growing at a CAGR of 10 per cent in value terms over the last decade, organised retailers see a lot of potential in F&V retail business. Th is is prompting them to revisit their business and distribution models to increase their market share. As organised players revisit their business model at every step of the value chain from farm to fork, in order to restructure it, F&V retail is set to transform in India and become a significant part of the business of F&G retail.
With improvements in infrastructure, roads, transport, warehouses, cold chains and overall connectivity, retailers have more room to reinvent their distribution and marketing strategies, and also for testing newer retail formats and practices that may lead to fresh growth channels. Th e sector’s back-end is also being strengthened by modern wholesalers, who are now increasingly open to collaborating with the retailers. Th ese developments are helping to establish potent links between farmers and retailers and in providing the muchneeded infrastructure to purchase and market fresh produce in the country. All of these are very timely and welcome steps in the right direction that will eventually transform fruit & vegetable retail in India and help to sharply reduce our staggering wastage and spoilage of fresh produce.
