<p>A foray into the perishables market, among the company’s newer opportunities, will help multi-brand giant ITC to achieve its target turnover of Rs 1 lakh crore by 2030, company chairman and chief executive Y C Deveshwar said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The company is looking at entering the market for a variety of perishables, including fruits and vegetables, he shared, while addressing the company’s 105th annual general meeting on Friday.<br /><br />ITC’s “strong presence in the agri-food value chain” will help the company explore new opportunities, “particularly in the area of perishables including fruits and vegetables”, Deveshwar said, while addressing his last AGM as chief executive. He will move to a non-executive position from February 2017, making way for a new CEO to take over. Sanjeev Puri, president of ITC’s FMCG business, is most likely to take over as chairman.<br /><br />Deveshwar pointed out that while only 10% of India’s agri-produce, including milk, is processed, “colossal agri-wastage, particularly in perishables, not only poses a constraint on farmer income, but also fuels supply-side shortages, leading to food inflation”. He said that “weak cold-chain infrastructure” and “virtual absence of well-established end-to-end players” pose problems for developing India’s processed food industry.<br /><br />He further said that ITC is “exploring the opportunity to invest in a state-of-the-art cold-chain to cover farm produce, including fresh, frozen and dehydrated fruits and vegetables”. The company is already in the process of developing physical infrastructure for the purpose, which will be utilised “to establish cost-effective regional cold-chains across the country”. Deveshwar said that new opportunities will “further strengthen ITC’s leadership across the farm-to-fork value chain”, leading to “greater value realisation” for farmers, reducing wastage, and ensuring year-round “availability of high-quality products” for consumers.<br /><br />ITC’s Bengaluru-based Life Sciences Centre is putting in place a convergence of R&D capabilities “to deliver products of the future aimed at nutrition, health and well-being”, he said. Deveshwar told shareholders that ITC is focusing on the “health and wellness space” with food products that will “address widespread concerns of Indians about maladies related to diabetes, cognition, gut and cardiovascular health”.</p>
<p>A foray into the perishables market, among the company’s newer opportunities, will help multi-brand giant ITC to achieve its target turnover of Rs 1 lakh crore by 2030, company chairman and chief executive Y C Deveshwar said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The company is looking at entering the market for a variety of perishables, including fruits and vegetables, he shared, while addressing the company’s 105th annual general meeting on Friday.<br /><br />ITC’s “strong presence in the agri-food value chain” will help the company explore new opportunities, “particularly in the area of perishables including fruits and vegetables”, Deveshwar said, while addressing his last AGM as chief executive. He will move to a non-executive position from February 2017, making way for a new CEO to take over. Sanjeev Puri, president of ITC’s FMCG business, is most likely to take over as chairman.<br /><br />Deveshwar pointed out that while only 10% of India’s agri-produce, including milk, is processed, “colossal agri-wastage, particularly in perishables, not only poses a constraint on farmer income, but also fuels supply-side shortages, leading to food inflation”. He said that “weak cold-chain infrastructure” and “virtual absence of well-established end-to-end players” pose problems for developing India’s processed food industry.<br /><br />He further said that ITC is “exploring the opportunity to invest in a state-of-the-art cold-chain to cover farm produce, including fresh, frozen and dehydrated fruits and vegetables”. The company is already in the process of developing physical infrastructure for the purpose, which will be utilised “to establish cost-effective regional cold-chains across the country”. Deveshwar said that new opportunities will “further strengthen ITC’s leadership across the farm-to-fork value chain”, leading to “greater value realisation” for farmers, reducing wastage, and ensuring year-round “availability of high-quality products” for consumers.<br /><br />ITC’s Bengaluru-based Life Sciences Centre is putting in place a convergence of R&D capabilities “to deliver products of the future aimed at nutrition, health and well-being”, he said. Deveshwar told shareholders that ITC is focusing on the “health and wellness space” with food products that will “address widespread concerns of Indians about maladies related to diabetes, cognition, gut and cardiovascular health”.</p>
