Vegetable seeds industry expected to grow by 100 per cent in 5 years

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Domestic vegetable seeds industry is expected to grow by 100 per cent to around ₹8,000 crore in the next five years on account of demand for higher vegetable production and greater use of hybrid seeds, according to ratings firm ICRA.

This growth will be necessitated by the estimated growth in vegetable production required to meet future demand, and driven by greater use of hybrid seeds, which as of now have low penetration, says an ICRA note.

Mr. Sachin Sachdeva, Associate Head & AVP – Corporate Ratings, ICRA says, “Increasing population awareness to consume more vegetables to meet diverse dietary requirements and nutritional needs, has raised the demand for vegetables significantly. India would require around 35% increase in production of vegetables over the next five years. However, given the constraints on increasing the area under cultivation, the growth would come through productivity augmentation of which a major part has to be driven by greater adoption of hybrid seeds in cultivation of vegetable crops. ICRA estimates that with the growth in volumes as well as value (on the back of hybridisation), the size of the vegetable seeds industry would double from the current levels to around Rs. 8,000 crore in the next five years – registering a CAGR of around 10%.”

 

As against general nutrition guidelines recommending average per capita consumption of 110 kg of vegetable per annum, the production in the country is adequate at per-capita level of around 140 kg per annum.

However, still there is a relative shortfall of vegetables in meeting the required nutritional need of the population due to mismanagement at various levels.

Because of the inherent perishable nature of the produce, around 30% of vegetables perish during harvesting, storage, grading, transportation, packaging and distribution.

“The key to improve adoption of hybrid seeds in production of vegetable lies in ensuring the availability of quality seeds, bridging the awareness gap in farmers regarding better techniques, and developing supportive infrastructure facilities,” Sachdeva said.

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