India: Agribusiness to Offer New Opportunities Post-COVID

By The Hindu|16 May 2020

With all its downsides, COVID-19 may also create new opportunities in Indian agriculture and allied sectors, writes Mini Muringatheri at The Hindu. Thanks to lockdown restrictions, people may be impelled to minimize dependence on other States, resulting in a paradigm shift towards the agribusiness sector.

“The production of animal protein sources like milk, egg, meat, and meat products has emerged as a potential means to address food security issues and protein malnutrition. Policies and programs in the sector will be the thrust areas post-COVID-19. A lot of entrepreneurship opportunities exist in this sector,” says B. Sunil, professor and head, Meat Technology Centre, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU).

According to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), 30% of agriculture enterprises are making profit, 35% at break even level, and the remaining 35% are making losses. By 2022, of the total retail market in the country, food retail may occupy 70% of the market. It implies that there will be huge demand for ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products.

Continue reading at The Hindu.