Supply chain of tomato : Linking Indian Farmers to International Consumers

Abstract

The consumption pattern of Indian consumers is fast diversifying due to rapid internationalization of dietary patterns, rising double income families and ever-increasing health consciousness. As a result, consumers have shifted significantly from consuming merely food grains to vegetables and fruits. This change has accelerated the demand for more and more horticultural produce, both raw and processed. Tomato is one of the major horticulture crops consumed world widely. The consumption of tomato products increased over the past few years. According to the report of WPTC the increase in the consumption of processed tomato indicates a slow shift of consumers away from fresh products towards processed products. The demand for tomato is high in Europe, North America, Italy, U.S.A, Russia and Germany. The demand of the processed tomato is more most of the tomato is consumed as sauce for pizza and pasta. Tomato is one of the most widely grown vegetable crops in Uttarakhand and Tarai region of North India. In Uttarakhand 119742 metric tons of tomato is cultivated in an area of 9360.75 hectares (NHB, 2019). The farmers of Uttarakhand prefer tomato cultivation as the agro-climate condition is favourable. Moreover, wide spread use of tomatoes for different food preparations such as soups, salads, pickles, chutney, paste, puree, ketchups, junk and ready to eat food has increased demand for tomatoes. In Uttarakhand, the generated produce is not efficiently supported by the existing market infrastructure. The entire supply chain of tomato is laden with inefficiencies: poor transportation facilities, lack of cold chain facilities, lack of processing units, poor connectivity from farm to market, huge post-harvest losses and large no. intermediaries. The grower’s still practice traditional cultivation methods remain unaware of consumer needs, preferences and prevailing market prices. This causes large fluctuation in consumer prices and low quality of non-standardized produce. This is a double whammy as farmers realize poor prices on the one hand whereas consumers pay exorbitant prices on the other hand. Horticulture crops being high value crops are important in enhancing income for the farmers besides creating on farm and off farm employment. It is important for India to leverage its diverse agro-climates and distinct seasons, which makes it possible for farmers to grow a wide variety of horticulture crops. The objective of this paper is to design an efficient supply chain model which can better price realization of farmers and also ensures timely, adequate, quality supplies to consumers at the right prices.