Soon, farmers are set to benefit from significant opportunities as companies are paving new avenues for growth. Indian agricultural products are now being exported on a much larger scale, especially processed potato products, which have seen a sharp rise in demand in the post-COVID era.
During the pandemic, exports of potatoes and frozen potato products from Europe had slowed down. Indian companies have seized this opportunity. The world’s largest retail chain, Walmart, is also prioritizing India. Apart from the US, Indian exports are also expanding significantly in Asian as well as Gulf markets.
One of the key companies in this sector, HyFun Foods, which exports around 70 per cent of its products to the US and other countries, reported major success despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic, such as container shortages.
This success has enabled the company to not only export french fries but also a variety of other frozen food products. The company sources 90 per cent of its potatoes from Gujarat’s Sabarkantha and Banaskantha districts and processes them at a factory in Mehsana. These products are then exported via the Mundra port.
Big Market
HyFun Foods is quite optimistic about international markets and the same within India as well. The company supplies frozen foods to well-known domestic brands like D-Mart, Burger King, and KFC.
Haresh Karmachandani, Group CEO and Managing Director of HyFun Foods, explained that the processing of potatoes helps maintain their quality and reduces losses during transportation, making it easier to distribute to distant locations. He also talked about the company’s future expansion plans.
Haresh Karmachandani is a first-generation entrepreneur. His family was involved in trading potatoes in Gujarat’s wholesale markets. From there, he decided to venture into the processed food industry.
Today, the company processes a range of products, including French fries, hash browns, pizza toppings, potato flakes, and vegetable kebabs, all using deep-freezing technology. These products are exported to multiple countries around the world, including India.
According to him, the company’s current turnover is Rs 1400 crore, and it aims to increase this to Rs 5000 crore by 2030. Farmers will play a key role in this growth. Haresh mentioned that the company has mainly focused on sourcing potatoes from Gujarat through contract farming, where they provide seeds to farmers and buy the potatoes at Rs 13.5 per kg. These potatoes are then stored in cold storage before being processed based on demand at the factory.
Beneficial for Farmers
Farmers associated with the company in Mehsana said that in the past, they were always worried about price fluctuations when growing potatoes. But with the new contract system in place, they now have the security of stable farming. The company also keeps them informed about the specific fertilizers and water their crops need. Plus, their harvest is sent directly to the company’s cold storage from the field, which has taken away many of their old worries, he added.
Future Plans
The company, currently working with more than 7,500 farmers and procuring potatoes close to 4,00,000 MT, is holding a 13 percent market share in exports in the category of processed fruits and vegetables. In the coming years, HyFun Foods plans to expand its operations beyond Gujarat into states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
The company also intends to diversify into other vegetable-based products. Pilot projects have already started in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, and these initiatives are expected to grow rapidly in the future. In Madhya Pradesh, the company is scouting locations between Indore and Ujjain for a new processing plant, and in the Malwa and Chhindwara regions, it plans to promote potato farming.
In Uttar Pradesh, a pilot project is already underway in Shahjahanpur. If successful, the company plans to establish a factory in western Uttar Pradesh.
New Products
Haresh also shared that, in addition to potatoes, the company plans to process onions and other vegetables for ready-to-use gravies. These products will be made available to consumers as needed. This initiative will not only provide better earnings for farmers but also stabilize the market, minimizing seasonal fluctuations and benefiting both farmers and consumers.
Experts view
The Director General & CEO of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) said that food processing is an industry experiencing rapid growth and is set to bring significant benefits to farmers. He also pointed out that as global purchasing power increases, India is becoming a major player in the global food export market. Moreover, with a growing global focus on health, the demand for organically grown produce is also on the rise.
According to FIEO, many companies are increasingly targeting large states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and others. However, farmers who switch to organic farming stand to reap a greater share of the benefits.
