AGRI-BUSINESS IN INDIA

(12TH AUGUST’2010 UPDATE)

Agriculture is one of the strongholds of the Indian economy and accounts for 14.6 per cent of the
country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009-10, and 10.23 per cent (provisional) of the total
exports. Furthermore, the sector provided employment to 58.2 per cent of the work force.

The Indian Agricultural Scenario

The total geographical area of India is 328.7 million hectares of which 140.3 million hectares is
net sown area, while 193.7 million hectares is the gross cropped area, according to the Annual
Report 2009-10 of the Ministry of Agriculture.

BRIEF LOOK INTO SOME OF THE COMPANIES OPERATING IN AGRIBUSINESS

1) Coffee Day
Bangalore-based group that comprises Fresh 'n Ground (400 outlets that sell coffee powder,
serve beverage etc), Café Coffee Day (chain of 343 cafes), Coffee Day Perfect (filter coffee),
ABC Exports (largest exporters of green coffee beans) etc.

2) ITC International Business Division (ITC-IBD)

Exporters of agricultural produce based in Secunderabad; part of the ITC Group; deals in
products like feed ingredients (soya meal, rapeseed meal), food grains, pulses, coffee, black
pepper, edible nuts, marine products & processed fruit.

3) ITC Limited
One of India's largest private sector companies with a diversified presence in cigarettes, hotels,
paperboards & specialty papers, packaging, agri-business, packaged foods & confectionery,
information technology, branded apparel etc; Kolkata-based.
  
4) Parry Agro
Leading producers of tea, with plantations across the country that produce 17 million kg of tea;
also produces 400 tonnes of coffee; part of the Murugappa Group; based in Chennai.
5) Tata Tea Ltd.
The world's second-largest global branded tea operation with product & brand presence in 40
countries, and subsidiaries in the UK & USA; headquartered in Kolkata; 86% of its business
comes from branded tea.

6) Zuari-Chambal
Diversified conglomerate with investments in fertilizers, cement, hybrid seeds, biotechnology,
ready-to-assemble furniture, chemicals, software, investments, home finance & engineering
services; based in New Delhi; part of the K.K. Birla Group.

7) Camson Bio Technologies Ltd 

Agriculture Biotechnology Company based in Bangalore; products include bio-fungicides, bio-
insecticides, bio-stimulants, bio-fertilizers, hybrid seeds etc.

8) Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd

Public sector diversified company based in Kolkata; has interests in industrial packaging, greases
& lubricants, leather chemicals, turnkey projects, tea, travel & tours, cargo & logistics, container
freight stations & IT services

9) DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd (DSCL)

Business group based in New Delhi; has interests in agri-business (sugar, urea, hybrid seeds etc),
chemicals, PVC resins, calcium carbide, cement, building systems, PVC compounds, energy
services, textiles, real estate etc.

10) Harrisons Malayalam Ltd (HML)

Diversified agri-business Company based in Kochi, Kerala; claims to be India's largest producer
of rubber, south India's largest tea producer & the largest pineapple farmer in the region; part of
RPG Enterprises.
'IMPERIAL TOBACCO COMPANY OF INDIA LIMITED' (ITC)
ITC's pre-eminent position as one of India's leading corporate in the agricultural sector is based
on strong and enduring farmer partnerships that has revolutionized and transformed the rural
agricultural sector. A unique rural digital infrastructure network, coupled with deep
understanding of agricultural practices and intensive research, has built a competitive and
efficient supply chain that creates and delivers immense value across the agricultural value chain.
One of the largest exporters of agri products from the country, ITC sources the finest of Indian
Feed Ingredients, Food Grains, Edible Nuts, Marine Products, Processed Fruits, and Coffee &
Spices.

ITC's Agri Business Division is the country's second largest exporter of agri-products with
exports of over Rs. 1000 Crores (Rs. 10 billion). Its domestic sales of agri-products are in
excess of Rs. 1500 Crores (Rs. 15 billion).

It currently focuses on exports and domestic trading of:

Feed Ingredients - Soya meal

Food Grains - Rice (Basmati & Non Basmati), Wheat, Pulses
Edible Nuts - Sesame Seeds, HPS Groundnuts, Castor oil
Marine Products - Shrimps and Prawns
Processed Fruits - Fruit Purees/Concentrates, IQF/Frozen Fruits, Organic Fruit Products, Fresh
Fruits
Coffee & Spices - Coffee, Black Pepper, Chilly, Turmeric, Ginger, Celery and other Seed Spices

Choupal Fresh

ITC's fresh food wholesale and retail initiative leverages its extensive backward linkages with
farmers and supply chain efficiencies. It focuses on stocking fresh horticulture produce like fresh
fruits and vegetables. Five Choupal Fresh retail stores are currently operational at Hyderabad.
The company has also set up a complete cold chain for ensuring the availability of fresh products
in the market, besides directly sourcing farm fresh produce from the farmers.
A customer centric approach

ITC's Agri Business Division continues to use innovation as its core strategy to retain its position
as the one-stop shop for sourcing agri-commodities from India. Besides setting benchmarks in
quality, reliability and value-added services, ITC is a trendsetter in customer care particularly in
commodity trading. Major customers include Cargill, Marubeni, Toepfer, among others, who
source agriculture commodities and food products from India. Customers can log
onto www.itcabd.com, and readily access information on crop production and forecast, market
updates, the latest shipment status and the prevailing foreign exchange rates.

Sourcing for ITC

ITC's Agri business is progressively aligning its commodity portfolio with the sourcing needs of
the Company's Foods business to generate higher order value from its agri procurement
infrastructure. The business has commenced procurement of chipstock potatoes, one of the
critical raw materials in the manufacture of the Company's 'Bingo!' brand of potato chips. The
acquisition of Technico, an Australian company with technology leadership in the production of
early generation seed potatoes, helped the business access a ready pipeline of new high-yielding
varieties of chipstock potato seeds.

Some of the important links

http://startups.nuvvo.com/lesson/11799-best-agri-business-startup-profile

http://www.hotteststartups.in/viewandvote.do?
method=fetch&businessFn=viewandvote&startupId=713

http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/agriculture/2010052151385.htm

http://in.ezilon.com/dir/Business__Agriculture_and_Forestry.php

http://www.isapindia.org/

COMPILED BY – GROUP 5
(ANUPRIYA, GARIMA, MANISHA)