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Research Article Open Access

Scope of Supply Chain Management in Fruits and Vegetables in India

Rais M1* and Sheoran A2
1
CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies, Pusa Gate, KS Krishnan Marg, New Delhi, India
2
Department of Civil Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Rajasthan, India

Abstract
India is the world largest producer of many fruits and vegetables but there still exist huge gap between per capita demand
and supply due to enormous waste during post-harvest storage and handling caused by improper bagging without crating, lack
of temperature controlled vehicles, unavailability of cold chain facilities in various parts of country for preserving the produce,
along with significant processing of the agricultural produce which results in immense losses to the nation. Hence a proper supply
chain management in fruits and vegetables has to be improved in all the stages of the supply by adopting best global practices in
storage, packaging, handling, transportation, value added service etc to meet the country’s demand of fruits and vegetables. As
per this paper important drawbacks of the current supply chain are high level of wastage, quality degradation, poor infrastructural
facilities and high cost. Government and private operators have to join hands to improve the physical infrastructure, information
sharing and the service required for quality improvement of the supply chain.

Keywords: Fruits and vegetables; India; Wastage; Supply chain efficient supply chain for the distribution of the fruits and vegetables.
management Supply chain management plays an integral role in keeping business
costs minimum and profitability as high as possible. There are many
Introduction factors involved in supply chain management of which flow is one of the
most important factor. Flow includes the product flow, the information
India is the world’s largest producer of many fresh fruits and flow and the finances flow. The product flow includes the movement of
vegetables, milk, major spices, fresh meat, few fibrous crops such as
goods from a supplier to a customer, as well as any customer returns
jute, several staples such as millets, castor oil seed etc. and ranked
or service needs. The information flow involves transmitting orders
amongst the world’s five largest producers of over 80% agricultural
and updating the status of delivery and the finance flow includes all the
produce items, including many cash crops such as coffee and cotton
financial aspect such as invoices and payments. The present challenge
[1]. Table 1 shows Production Share of major fruits and vegetables in
World and Table 2 shows the ranking of India in world of the major in supply chain management is to maintain all three flows in an efficient
fruits and vegetables. India’s vast geographical area coupled with varied manner, resulting in optimal results for farmers, growers, wholesalers
climate conditions facilitates to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. and customers.

India produced around 81.285 MT fruits and 162.187 MTs of

Commodities
vegetables which accounts for nearly 14.0% of country’s share in the
Vegetables India Ranks   Fruits India Ranks
world production of vegetables. Although, more than 70 types of
Brinjal 2 Apple 10
vegetables are grown in our country, higher emphasis is given to more
Cabbage 2 Banana 1
popular vegetables like tomato, brinjal, chilli, cauliflower, cabbage,
Cauliflower 2 Lemon 2
peas, potatoes, onions and few common cucurbits and leafy vegetables.
Onion 2 Citrus Fruits 8
These also generate high income and employment, particularly for
Peas 1 Orange 4
small farmers. Among the vegetables, potato is cultivated over large
Tomato 6 Grapes 16
area followed by onion, tomato and brinjal whereas, in the case of
Potato 3 Mango 1
production potato ranks first followed by tomato, onion and brinjal.
Sweet Potato 9 Papaya 5
Though India has lot many positives in the vegetable production and
Lettuce 5 Pineapple 5
marketing sector, it has several disadvantages too. The country lacks an
Pumpkins/Gourda 2    
Beans 6    
Commodities
Cassava 8    
Vegetables India share %   Fruits India share %
Brinjal 8.3 Apple 2.4 Table 2: Ranking of India in production of fruits and vegetables in World [7].

Cabbage 5.3 Banana 32.6

Cauliflower 4.9 Litichi 0.7 *Corresonding author: Mohammad Rais, CSIR-National Institute of Science,
Onion 10.4 Citrus Fruits 12.4 Technology and Development Studies, Pusa Gate, K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi
110 012, India; E-mail: [email protected]
Peas 2.5 Sapota   1.8
Tomato 11.2 Grapes 3.1 Received January 27, 2015; Accepted February 16, 2015; Published February
Potato 28.0 Mango 22.1 23, 2015

Sweet Potato 0.7 Papaya 6.6 Citation: Rais M, Sheoran A (2015) Scope of Supply Chain Management in Fruits
Tapioca 4.5 Pineapple 1.9 and Vegetables in India. J Food Process Technol 6: 427. doi:10.4172/2157-
7110.1000427
okra 3.9 Guava   3.9
others 20.5 Others 11.5 Copyright: © 2015 Rais M, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
Cassava 8    
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
Table 1: Production Share of major fruits and vegetables in World [1]. source are credited.

J Food Process Technol

ISSN: 2157-7110 JFPT, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 3 • 1000427
Citation: Rais M, Sheoran A (2015) Scope of Supply Chain Management in Fruits and Vegetables in India. J Food Process Technol 6: 427.
doi:10.4172/2157-7110.1000427

Page 2 of 7

Indian Scenario of Fruits and Vegetables Production Traditional processing technologies such as thermal processing
(bottling and canning), freezing, dehydration (salting, brining and
In India per capita availability of fruits and vegetables is quite low candying) drying, and fermentation are widely applied in the processing
because of postharvest losses which account for about 25% to 30% of of fruits and vegetables at various levels (artisanal, intermediate and
production. Table 2 shows the projected domestic demand of fruits high) and scales (cottage, small, medium and large). Tropical juices
and vegetables in India for the years 2010, 2015 and 2020 with 2010 and fruit pulps, canned pineapples, tomato paste and canned and dried
as base year. Besides, quality of a sizable quantity of produce also mushrooms are examples of fruit and vegetable products produced
deteriorates by the time it reaches the consumer. Most of the problems using traditional processing technologies and which are increasingly
relating to the marketing of fruits and vegetables can be traced to their entering in international trade. Dried and canned mushrooms
perishability. Perishability is responsible for high marketing costs, produced in China, currently account for 52% of world trade in
market gluts, price fluctuations and other similar problems. There is processed mushrooms, while canned pineapples produced in Thailand
a rise of about 4% in the production of fruits and vegetables but there accounts for approximately 45% of that product in world trade.
is significant increase in production area also which results in low
per hectare production. Table 3 which show the total production of Minimal processing technologies, specialized packaging and natural
various fruits and vegetables in different states of India along with the preservation systems are increasingly being applied in the preservation
area of production in the year 2013-14. This phenomenon is caused of fruits and vegetables for both developed and developing country
due to various factors in which economic and technological factors lead markets, in response to growing consumer demand for convenience
the race. State needs to educate the producers of the latest technology and for “fresh-like” fruits of high quality which are nutritious, flavorful
available and also help them by granting support to acquire them and and stable. These processing technologies focus on adding value with
proper supply chain management should be there in the country which comparatively little product transformation while increasing product
would help prevention of exploitation of farmers and help increase diversity.
their income. While minimal and traditional processing technologies present
Population and demographic changes in India considerable opportunities for innovation and vertical diversification
in the fruit and vegetable sector, relatively few small and medium
Indian middle and upper middle class population is growing enterprises (SMEs) are able to tap into and benefit from these
very rapidly and there is also increase in number of young working opportunities. Many SMEs lack the capacity to operate competitively in
couples, resulted in increase in demand for semi-processed food, fast the current globalized market environment owing to problems of scale,
foods, packed foods, ready-to-eat foods. Changing taste and preference the poor quality of input supplies, poor access to technology, limited
towards consumption of basic foods items, which is driven by longer technical expertise and research capacity, low production efficiency,
working hours, increase in double income families, more exposure to high marketing cost, lack of knowledge and consequently inability to
advertising, for comfort and convenience etc. Especially people living comply with international standards for processed products [3].
in cities are become more health and hygiene conscious. In place of
conventional wet markets, they prefer to buy vegetables, fruits and Marketing of Fruits and Vegetables
other agri-products from the super markets and modern retail stores,
Marketing of horticultural crops is quite complex and risky due
and this leads to the entry of more and more corporates into the agri
to the perishable nature of the produce, seasonal production and
food marketing [2].
bulkiness. The spectrum of prices from producer to consumer,
Post harvest loss and their preventive measure which is an outcome of demand and supply of transactions between
The fruit and vegetable sector has grown substantially both in various intermediaries at different levels in the marketing system,
volume and in variety of outputs traded globally. Rising incomes, falling is also unique for fruits. Moreover, the marketing arrangements at
transportation costs, improved technologies and evolving international different stages also play an important role in price levels at various
agreements, have all contributed to this level of growth. This increased stages viz. from farm gate to the ultimate user. These features make
level of fruit and vegetable production has, unfortunately, not been the marketing system of fruits to differ from other agricultural
matched by developments in supply chain management, or by vertical commodities, particularly in providing time, form and space utilities.
integration of production with processing in many developing While the market infrastructure is better developed for food grains,
countries. fruits and vegetables markets are not that well developed and markets
are congested and unhygienic.
Processing activities are of critical importance to expansion and
diversification within the fruit and vegetable sector in that they increase Different marketing channels
market opportunities for fresh fruits and vegetables and add value while
• Producer-trader-wholesaler-retailer-consumer.
minimizing postharvest losses. Furthermore, processing improves
the viability, profitability and sustainability of fruit and vegetable • Producer-trader-retailer-consumer.
production systems by increasing farm incomes, and generating rural
• Producer-trader-consumer.
employment and foreign exchange.
• Producer-consumer.
Year Total Demand (million tonnes) Per Capita Demand (kg) An efficient marketing system can
Fruits Vegetables Fruits Vegetables
Base year 2010 17.43 103.16 14.78 87.51
• Reduce post-harvest losses.
2015 21.06 119.12 16.67 94.28 • Enhances farmers’realisation.
2020 25.47 137.25 18.93 102.00
• Reduce consumer price.
Table 3: Projected domestic demand of fruits and vegetables in India [1].

J Food Process Technol

ISSN: 2157-7110 JFPT, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 3 • 1000427
Citation: Rais M, Sheoran A (2015) Scope of Supply Chain Management in Fruits and Vegetables in India. J Food Process Technol 6: 427.
doi:10.4172/2157-7110.1000427

Page 3 of 7

• Promote grading and food safety practices. chain perspective can help the retailers identify superior suppliers and
distributors and help them to improve productivity, which ultimately
• Induce demand-driven production.
brings down customers costs.
• Enable higher value addition.
Need for a supply chain in vegetable marketing
• Facilitate export.
Kalidas et al. says supply chain development not only benefits
India is becoming an important market in the global fruit the private sector but also creates spin-offs that stimulate social,
and vegetable trade economic and environmental sustainable de­velopment in the region
(employment generation, added value, minimization of product losses
Competent Agri Solutions offers a full service consultancy cum etc.) (Figure 1). The specific gains are:
supply chain Solutions Company covering the entire gamut of food
and agricultural sector and sub-sectors with the fruit and vegetable • Reduction of product losses in transportation and storage.
trade in India as the main focus. • Increasing of sales.
Competent AgriSolutions provides innovative farm to market • Dissemination of technology, capital and knowledge among the
supply chain solutions in retail and wholesale segments of fresh, chain partners.
frozen, fresh-cut and dehydrated Fruits &Vegetables Its clients are
established businesses, agri start-ups and overseas companies who wish • Better information about the flow of products, markets and
to diversify or enter into Indian fresh produce trade or set up retail technologies.
chains for perishable produce. The company also provides sourcing • Transparency of the supply chain.
and marketing assistance, both for commodities and machinery
/ equipment, to organized retail, food processing companies and • Tracking and tracing to the source.
individuals in addition to being a technical advisory and project
• Better control of product safety and quality.
consultancy for larger infrastructure projects like wholesale produce
markets, food parks and cold chain initiatives being undertaken • Large investments and risks are shared among partners in the
under aegis of Indian Government agencies like NHB, MOFPI, NHM, chain.
NABARD etc. Competent Agri Solutions in also involved in project
• Productivity Improvement
planning, introducing new products to the market and is also involved
in linking small villages who produce fresh produce to enable then • High customer satisfaction
to supply large assured markets, particularly organized retailers.
• Increased profit
This help farmers increase their income by cutting out the middle
man, improving productivity, reducing cost of production besides it • On time delivery,
producing higher quality fruit and vegetables due to less / improved
handling across the supply chain [4]. Present scenario of supply chain in India
It has been found that 30 – 40 percent of fruits and vegetables are
Supply Chain Management wasted due to post harvest losses. Table 4 shows the estimated waste
Supply Chain Management represents the management of percentages in each step of the food supply chain in India which is the
the entire set of production, manufacturing/ transformations, cause of low availability of fruits and vegetables for consumers and the
distribution and marketing activities by which a consumer is supplied need for import of them in spite of India being second largest producer.
with a desired product. Supply chain management encompasses There is lack of basic as well as specialized infrastructure such as cold
the planning and management of all activities involved in  sourcing storages, refer vans, cool chains, ripening chambers etc. Also there is a
procurement, conversion, and  logistics management. It also includes missing link between production and research system and consumers.
coordination and collaboration with  channel partners, which The system lacks in capacity building market information, research and
may be  suppliers,  intermediaries, third-party service providers, intelligence. India is short by 10 million tons of cold storage capacity
or  customers. Supply chain management integrates  supply and due to which over 30 percent of agricultural produce goes waste
demand  management within and across companies [5]. Hence, every year, more than 20% of produce from fields is lost to poor post-
supply chain management is defined as the design and operation of harvesting facilities and lack of cold chain infrastructure. India, the
physical, management information and financial systems needed world’s second largest fruit and vegetable producer encounters a waste
to transfer goods and services from point of production to point of of close to 25% worth of produce.
consumption in an efficient and effective manner. The entire supply
India has a huge opportunity to become a leading global food
chain management process is a value chain where bottlenecks, value
supplier if only it has an agile, adaptive, responsive and efficient supply
adding factors and liability factors are identified and addressed, thus
chain. Some of the problems that are to be mentioned in Indian food
enabling the retail organization to have an efficient supply chain. The
supply chain are the presence of numerous stake holders which are
supply is the part of retail operations that ensures that the right product
working in isolation and the infrastructure connecting these partners
is in the right place, at the right time and at the right cost. The supply

Procurement Primary Secondary

Inputs Production Retailing
& Storage Processing Processing

Figure 1: Supply chain in Fruits and Vegetables industries.

J Food Process Technol

ISSN: 2157-7110 JFPT, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 3 • 1000427
Citation: Rais M, Sheoran A (2015) Scope of Supply Chain Management in Fruits and Vegetables in India. J Food Process Technol 6: 427.
doi:10.4172/2157-7110.1000427

Page 4 of 7

Area in '000 Ha, Production in '000 MT productivity Improvement, high customer satisfaction, increased profit
State/ut's Fruits Vegetables and on time delivery.
  A P A P
Andaman & Nicobar 3.55 29.72 6.89 51.79
Cold Storage
Andhra Pradesh 973.80 14219.31 710.31 12422.06 Status of cold storage and its potential in India
Arunachal Pradesh 89.08 322.16 1.40 35.00
Assam 153.96 2210.24 291.00 3479.94 The estimated annual production of fruits and vegetables in the
Bihar 306.73 4491.24 871.08 16572.70 country is about 130 million tones. This accounts for 18% of our
Chhattisgarh 212.88 1930.18 404.05 5502.36 agricultural output. Due to diverse agro climatic conditions and better
D & n Haveli     1.10 5.50 availability of package of practices, the production is gradually rising.
Daman & Diu         Although, there is a vast scope for increasing the production, the lack
Delhi     27.30 483.68 of cold storage and cold chain facilities are becoming major bottlenecks
Goa 11.27 81.61 6.67 80.86 in tapping the potential. The cold storage facilities now available are
Gujarat 381.50 8413.17 571.30 11433.58 mostly for a single commodity like potato, orange, apple, grapes,
Haryana 52.12 550.00 370.92 6000.00 pomegranates, flowers, etc. which results in poor capacity utilization.
Himachal Pradesh 218.03 836.96 78.99 1514.43
Storage of fruits and vegetables and storage conditions
Jammu & Kashmir 355.09 2073.74 63.06 1395.47
Jharkhand 93.17 890.04 313.51 4236.73 Fruits and vegetables and many other commodities can be
Karnataka 408.20 6936.90 439.20 7354.88 preserved by storage at low temperature, which retards the activities of
Kerala 314.56 2584.01 146.00 3445.58 microorganisms. Microorganisms are the spoilage agents and consist
Lakshadweep 0.22 0.48 0.25 0.33 of bacteria, yeasts and molds. Low temperature does not destroy those
Madhya Pradesh 203.79 5691.90 631.25 12966.50 spoilage agents as does high temperature, but greatly reduces their
Maharashtra 1565.00 10021.00 726.00 10112.00 activities, providing a practical way of preserving perishable foods in
Manipur 54.05 525.78 24.28 274.50 their natural state which otherwise is not possible through heating. The
Meghalaya 33.59 339.36 42.04 428.04 low temperature necessary for preservation depends on the storage
Mizoram 57.89 344.43 42.87 260.52 time required often referred to as short or long term shortage and the
Nagaland 40.16 375.74 52.48 483.39 type of product. Table 5 shows desired storage environment of fruits
Odisha 325.86 2148.27 677.33 9433.66 and vegetables in the cold storage.
Puducherry 0.48 10.01 0.67 14.73
India has around 6,300 cold storage facilities, with a capacity of
Punjab 76.95 1528.61 190.42 3907.60
30.11 million tones. However, some 75-80 per cent of these refrigerated
Rajasthan 45.83 444.60 159.77 1366.09
warehouses are suitable only to store potatoes, a commodity that
Sikkim 16.02 24.40 26.11 132.02
produces only 20 per cent of agricultural revenue. India needs expansion
Tamilnadu 328.54 7370.04 299.79 8678.49
of cold storage infrastructure in an affordable, reliable and sustainable
Tripura 60.57 638.78 45.58 760.16
way to increase the contribution of agriculture to the economy.
Uttar pradesh 328.70 5378.33 930.92 20341.04
Uttarakhand 200.85 805.67 88.03 1059.57 Cold chain investment
West Bengal 223.50 3194.00 1368.05 26014.95
Total 7135.947 84410.673 9608.590 170248.15 India’s investment in cold chain is projected to be $15 billion over
the next five years, IME pointed out. The report said that approximately
Table 4: Area and Production of fruits and vegetables 2013-14 [1].
60 per cent of the total number of facilities is located only in Uttar
Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal and Punjab. Only 4 million of the 104
is very weak. There is lack of demand estimation and technology million tons of fresh produce are transported through a cold chain.
applications such as cold chain logistic supply chains and product
tracking and tracing. Lack system integration and presence of large Wastage of fruits and vegetables
number of unorganized retailers result in making unorganized supply It is reported that only 10-11 per cent of the fruits and vegetables
chain practices further inefficient [6]. produced in India use cold storage. Storage capacity needs to be
Deliya et al. [7] reported that the present supply chain that increased by 40 per cent to avoid wastage. There is more wastage of
connects the farmers to both the organized, as well as the unorganized fruits and vegetables in the southern and western regions of India due
retail, is highly inefficient with several inter mediaries and manual to the tropical and humid climate.
handling. The result is lots of wastages as much as nearly 30% and
Role of cold storages
also less remuneration for the farmers. Sudarshan naidu [8] says
supply chain development not only benefits the private sector but also The importance of cold storage of fruits and vegetables has to
creates spin-offs that stimulate social, economical and environmental
sustainable development in the region (employment generation, added Commodity Agricultural Post harvest Processing Distribution consumption
and
value, minimization of product losses etc). The specific gains are Packaging
reduction of product losses in transportation and storage, increasing Production handling and storage
of sales, dissemination of technology, capital and knowledge among Fruits and 15% 9% 25% 10% 7%
the chain partners, better information about the flow of products, Vegetables
markets and technologies, transparency of the supply chain, tracking Source: Global Food Losses and Food Waste: Extent, Causes and Prevention,
and tracing to the source, better control of product safety and quality, FAO, 2011
large investments and risks are shared among partners in the chain, Table 5: Estimated/assumed waste percentages in each step of the FSC in India.

J Food Process Technol

ISSN: 2157-7110 JFPT, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 3 • 1000427
Citation: Rais M, Sheoran A (2015) Scope of Supply Chain Management in Fruits and Vegetables in India. J Food Process Technol 6: 427.
doi:10.4172/2157-7110.1000427

Page 5 of 7

achieve following objectives [9]. Commodity Temperature (oC) Relative Humidity (%)
Apple -1 - 3 90 - 98
Seasonal production: The production of fruits and vegetables
Apricots -0.5 - 0 90 - 95
is highly located in favored situations of soil and climate. While the
Avocado 7 - 13 85 - 90
demand for fresh fruits and vegetable continuous almost throughout
Asparagus 0-2 95 - 97
the year, their supplies are only seasonal. For e.g. apples grown in
Beans, green 4-7 90 - 95
Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh find markets all over the
Beet root 0-2 95 - 97
county. Therefore, cold storages have more importance in storing and
Broccoli 0-2 90 - 95
supplying the seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Black berry -0.5 - 0 95 - 97
Spoilage: A crucial problem faced in the case of fruits and Cabbage 0-2 90 - 95
vegetables is that of the huge enormous losses that occur on account Carrots 0-2 90 - 95
of spoil­age. The loss of spoilage on different stages on marketing esti­ Cauliflower 0-2 90 - 95
mated between 20% to 33% of the total production. There is an urgent Cherries 0.5 - 0 90 - 95
need to minimize the present spoilage loss through cold storages. Cucumber 7 - 10 90 - 95
Brinjal 0-2 90 - 95
Losses in transit: Most of the fruits and vegetables are of extremely
Grapes -1 - 1 85 - 90
perishable nature and cannot be kept long under ordinary conditions
Lemons 4 - 15 86 - 88
of storage. Refrigerated trucks and air-cooled wagons which will help
Lettuce 0-1 95 - 98
in minimizing losses is transport.
Lime 3 - 10 85 - 90
Better distribution and fair prices: The prices paid by the Mango 11 - 18 85 - 90
consumer to the producer is very low ranging from 40%-60% one of Melon water 2-4 85 - 90
the principal reasons for this is prevalence of various malpractices in Orange 0 - 10 85 - 90
the fruits and vegeta­bles in terminal markets like Mumbai, Chennai, Peach -1 - 1 88 - 92
Delhi, Calcutta etc. These markets receive large quantities of fresh fruits Potato 1.5 - 4 90 - 94
from outside the state. The producer never knows at what price his
Table 6: Desired Storage Environment of Fruits and Vegetables in the cold
product was in the nearest cold stores and gets fair prices with better
storage.
distribution.
Stabilizing market prices: Besides the role of stabilizing market Year No. of Cold Installed Capacity in
prices and also distribut­ing both on demand basis and time basis. The Storages '000MT’
farmers get op­portunity of producing cash crops to get fair prices at the 1995 83 43
same time, the consumers get the supply of perishable fruits and veg­ 1960 359 305
etables with minimum prices i.e. cold storages stabilizing mar­ket prices 1965 600 682
of fruits and vegetables. 1970 1218 1638
1975 1615 1994
Maintain quality: Cold storages will help to maintain the quality of 1979 2266 3348
product for some period of time. It gives a chance to protect the quality 1986 2607 5402
of perishable goods for long time whenever it needed to store. 2004 4748 19552
2006 5101 21694
Wastage reduction: The cold storage system will greatly help in
2007 5316 23334
reducing the wast­age of perishable goods. Generally the perishable
2008 6000 25500
goods wast­age is more due its nature of short life and lack of storing
1979 2266 3348
facili­ties. Therefore the cold storage has a greater role in reduction of
1986 2607 5402
wastage.
Table 7: Number of Cold Storages in India [9].
Though India has lot many positives in the vegetable production
and marketing sector, it has several disadvantages too. The country The growth of the cold storages in India from 1955 to 2008 has not
lacks an efficient supply chain for the distribution of the fruits and uniform, Region wise and State wise also. Region wise no. of cold stores
vegetables and cold storage being the central point. Cold storage helps in India are – Central Region -352 (6%), South Region-778 (7%), East
Region-947 (33%), North Region -2386 (47%) and West Region -853
in increasing the consumption life and processing helps in preservation
(7%) at the end of the 2007 (Table 8).
of fruits and vegetables which can be consumed during off season.
The above tables reveal that the no of cold storages in India and
Factors affecting India’s Supply Chain Management Maharashtra in selected areas. Among the states Uttar Pradesh state
Availability of cold storage having more than 1500 cold storages with the capacity of 1011800
Mt, remain other states have less than 500 Cold stor­ages. Within the
Total no of cold storages in India is 6000. With the total installed Maharashtra the districts like thane, Mumbai and Nasik having the
capacity of 25.5 million MT. Uttar Pradesh ,Maharashtra, West Bengal, highest no of cold storages with 75 and 71 respectively.
Punjab and Gujarat account for more than 60% cold storage capacity
followed by Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. Shown Government policies
on Tables 6 and 7 are number of cold storages in India from 1986 to The Governments play a leading role in formulating the policies for
1995 and number of cold storages and its capacity in selected states in food and agriculture which includes farming, production, processing,
2013 respectively distribution besides the financing and retailing these activities. There

J Food Process Technol

ISSN: 2157-7110 JFPT, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 3 • 1000427
Citation: Rais M, Sheoran A (2015) Scope of Supply Chain Management in Fruits and Vegetables in India. J Food Process Technol 6: 427.
doi:10.4172/2157-7110.1000427

Page 6 of 7

Sr. No Name of the Number. of Percentage Capacity • Lack of demand estimation: Demand forecasting is totally absent
State Cold storages (%) (In M.T.) and the farmers try to push whatever they produce into the market.
1 Uttar Pradesh 1589 29.53 10118000
2 Maharashtra 466 8.66 546748
• Lack of technology applications: Cold chain logistic supply chains
3 West Bengal 463 8.60 5682000
should take advantage of technology improvements in data capture
4 Punjab 422 7.84 1345193
and processing, product tracking and trac­ing, synchronized freight
5 Gujarat 398 7.40 1267304
transport transmit times for time compression along the supply chain
and supply-demand matching.
6 Andhra Pradesh 290 5.40 900606
7 Bihar 246 4.57 1147041 • Lack of system integration: The supply chain needs to be designed
8 Hariyana 244 4.53 393121 and built as a whole in an integrated manner. The process of new
9 Madhya Pradesh 197 3.66 808052 product development, procurement and order to delivery processes
10 Others 1066 19.81 2242587 should be well designed and well supported with the help of IT tools
Total 5381 100 24450652 and software.
Table 8: Number of Cold Storages and its Capacity in Selected States 2013 [9]. • Presence of large number of unorganized retailers: At present the
unorganized retailers are linked with farmers through wholesalers or
are several multitudes of departments handled between both State and commission agents. The commis­sion agents and wholesalers redundant
Central Governments. In view of the globalization of this industry, the supply chain prac­tices make unorganized further inefficient.
decisions if are mutually reinforcing and consistent would be extremely
productive. Further research initiated in various other fields of food Measures for improving supply chain and its effectiveness
and agriculture may be helpful to further strengthen our economy. Deliya et al. has recommended the following measures: There has
Connectivity to be structural changes at different levels - farmers, intermediaries
and consumer. The government, private, public-private partnership,
Transferring goods from one place to connectivity plays a vital role cooperatives, technology providers, and even media can play a
in its successful implementation. In India the road infrastructure is not crucial role. Infrastructure like roads, transport, information and
so good so transferring food and other goods is a real big challenge. communication technology and cold storage are basic requirement for
Thus to improve the efficiency of food supply chain more attention is better results in Supply chain.
needed in this aspect.
1. Demand forecasting is one of the important requirements
Sorting and grading technology for improving SC effectiveness. Due to poor forecasting, there is a
imbalance between supply and demand. In some months vegetables
The sorting and grading methodology needs to be updated
are either not plucked from the farm due to lack of demand. In some
technically as farmers do it themselves and they have very little
reasons, produce is not available and a result, prices are boost up.
knowledge about the processes. To improve the efficiency of the supply
chain we need to improve the skills of the farmers. 2. The Department of Horticulture acts as the facilitator for
creation of infrastructure facilities for marketing of fruits and
Handling and packaging
vegetables in the state. The Department of Agricultural Marketing is
Most of the agriculture is in remote village areas and all the places facilitating the marketing of agricultural/horticultural produces in the
are not provided with proper facilities of handling and packaging. state. The Department of Agricultural Marketing recently established
Because of this lot of fruits and vegetables are getting spoiled, wasted Raithra Santhe wherein the growers/farmers can bring their fruits and
and quality deteriorated to be used in supply chain. Thus proper vegetables to the market and sell them directly to the growers. The
training and knowledge is required to be given to these people.
Department of Agricultural Marketing is also handles the notified
Skilled labor Fruits and Vegetables in the state through APMCS.
Government should provide some training program on regular 3. Vertical coordination of farmers through cooperatives, contract
basis and may also build some institutions which provide scientific farming and retail chains would facilitate better delivery of output,
training in all the above aspects. reduce market risks, provide better infrastructure, attract more public
interest, acquire better extension services, and create awareness
Linkage in marketing channel
regarding the prevailing and new technologies.
Proper marketing and its information on other factors needs to be
properly available for providing good efficiency for food supply chain 4. Customized logistics is another important immediate
and thus development of strong economy. requirement to make logistic effective. This reduces the cost, facilitates
the maintenance of quality of the produce and fulfills the requirements
Problems in Indian food supply chain of targeted customers.
India has a huge opportunity to become a leading global food 5. The State Government is providing subventions of Rs.1/- per
supplier if only it has an agile, adaptive, responsive and effi­cient supply
KWH of electricity consumed by cold storages in the horticulture
chain. Some of the problems that are to be men­tioned in Indian food
sector. Further, National Horticulture Board is providing a back
supply chain are:
ended subsidy of 25% (maximum of Rs.50 lakhs whichever is less) for
• Numerous stake holders working in isolation: The food supply construction/modernization of cold storage units. Cold storages are
chain is complex with perishable goods and numer­ous small stake holders. classified as Agro Food Processing Industry for providing incentives
In India, the infrastructure con­necting these partners is very weak. and concessions available to Agro Food Industry.

J Food Process Technol

ISSN: 2157-7110 JFPT, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 3 • 1000427
Citation: Rais M, Sheoran A (2015) Scope of Supply Chain Management in Fruits and Vegetables in India. J Food Process Technol 6: 427.
doi:10.4172/2157-7110.1000427

Page 7 of 7

6. Information system for better coordination among different up of basic production factors, an optimal crop management system,
stakeholders from farmers to consumers is the need of the hour. developing a post-harvest infrastructure, entrepreneurial management
The internet and mobile communication can also be used to enable and expertise and logistical infrastructure and finally by improving
information and financial transfer between the stakeholders. post-harvest operations related to handling, storage, and marketing
of produce. All these initiatives will ensure consistency in supply
7. Public private partnership is another strategic solution. Supply
and provide recorded and demonstrated traceability of products will
chain like washing, waxing, grading, sorting, packing, pre-cooling,
benefit the farmers with good remunerative price and consumers with
handling facilities, insurance, finance, transport and processing
good quality produce and also will reduce the losses incurred due to
facilities would add value to supply chain functioning.
poor post-harvest management and thereby ensuring adequate supply
8. The main objective of establishing Food and Technology Parks it to the consumers. Creation of proper fruit and vegetable supply chain
to promote agro and processing industries in cluster in area where there system will link together farmers, vegetable vendors, farmer’s self-help
is predominant production of process able agriculture and Horticulture groups and women vegetable/fruits vendors ensuring the availability
Products. These parks will also provide the required infrastructural and of quality produce at competitive price to consumers at a convenient
common facilities which are essential for sustenance of the industries. time and place.
Quality assurance laboratories, Ware housing including cold storages, References
common effluent treatment plants etc.
1. National Horticulture Board.
Conclusion 2. Halder P, Pati S (2011) A need for paradigm shift to improve supply chain
management of fruits and vegetables in India. Ideas 1: 1-20.
There is a colossal waste during the post-harvest storage and
handling due to improper bagging without crating, lack of temperature 3. Rolle RS (2005) Postharvest Management of Fruit and Vegetables in the Asia-
Pacific Region.
controlled vehicles, no cold chain facilities for preserving the produce,
coupled with significant processing of the agricultural produce 4. Lilly V (2013) Marketing of Fruits and Vegetables in India- an Overview,
PARIPEX. Indian Journal of Research 3: 9-20.
resulting in enormous losses to the nation. Given the characteristics of
fruits and vegetables such as perishability, seasonality, bulkiness and 5. Kalidas K, Jiji S, Sureka M (2014) Supply Chain Management in Vegetables,
delicate nature of the products coupled with inadequate storage and Paripex. Indian Journal of Research 3: 315-316.
transport facilities, the supply chain can be made efficient by reducing 6. Bhardwaj S, Palaparthy I (2008) Factors Influencing Indian Supply Chains of
the length of the chain improving cold chain facilities. The supply chain fruits and Vegetables: ALiterature Review. The IUP Journal of Supply Chain
Management, V: 59-68.
management in vegetables has to be improved in all the stages of the
supply by adopting global best practices in storage, packaging, handling, 7. Deliya M, Thakor C, Parmar B (2012) A Study on differentiator in Marketing
of fresh fruits and Vegetables from Supply Chain Management Perspective.
transportation, value added service etc. And also by disintermediation
Abhinav: National monthly Refered Journal of Research in Commerce and
and participation of organized players i.e., modern supply chain Managment 1: 40-57.
with a view to benefit both farmers as well as ultimate consumers.
8. Naidu S (2008) Supply chain management of fruits and vegetables.
Several initiatives can be taken by the Indian government to solve
the problems existing in the Indian food supply chain which includes 9. Gundewadi BB (2013) Role and Performance of Cold Storages in Indian
Agriculture. Int. J Sci Res 2: 323-323.
allowing more organized retailers to enter into retail market, setting

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J Food Process Technol

ISSN: 2157-7110 JFPT, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 3 • 1000427