Organized Retailing of Horticultural Commodities

Abstract

Owing to rapid urbanization and changing consumption patterns, more and more retailers are trying to put their best efforts to discover new avenues of success when it comes to the sales of horticultural commodities. There are several Indian companies as well as foreign companies who have been focusing all their energies to succeed in the organized retail sector of Indian horticulture commodities. The Indian retail industry is worth $470 million and organized retail stands at $26 million which is around 6% of the market. The overall organized retail market in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of 40%, touching US$ 107 billion by 2013. Especially horticulture retail, which is mostly referred as the selling of fresh fruits and vegetables, is witnessing a slow but steady change. The main objective of this paper is to gain insight into organized retail of Horticulture commodities from the Indian perspective. This paper attempts to explore and evaluate the extent of the transformation and its impact brought by the organized retailing of Horticultural commodities in India. The first section of this paper discusses the nature of organized retailing in India alongside the progress and experience of organized retailing of Horticulture commodities. The second section of this paper enumerates the issues and concerns in the Horticulture sector of India and subsequently this paper examines the effects of FDI in Horticulture retail while quoting some evidences from other countries. This study has analyzed and evaluated the organized retailing sector in Horticulture commodities and put forward specific recommendations for the development and transformation of this sector.