Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd, a subsidiary of automotive conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra, expands its premium table grape footprint amidst rising domestic demand for premium goods, echoing trends in the automotive sector.
01 Apr 2025 | 1848 Views | By Shahkar Abidi
Consider the grape. Orbicular, translucent, often dismissed as a mere component of fruit salads or a casual snack. Yet, for those attuned to the subtle yet profound shifts within the agricultural landscape—and indeed, for anyone attempting to decipher the increasingly erratic signals emanating from our planetary climate—the grape has become ...
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Consider the grape. Orbicular, translucent, often dismissed as a mere component of fruit salads or a casual snack. Yet, for those attuned to the subtle yet profound shifts within the agricultural landscape—and indeed, for anyone attempting to decipher the increasingly erratic signals emanating from our planetary climate—the grape has become something of a vital indicator, a fleshy barometer of change.
Its lineage in India, though historically debated, tentatively stretches back to the fourteenth century, a period in Maharashtra contemporaneous with the reign of Mohammed-bin-Tughlak and his audacious, ultimately ill-fated, endeavor to relocate the capital of the Delhi Sultanate—a historical echo that feels temporally distant from the grape’s contemporary predicament.
For corporate entities such as Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd. (MASL), a subsidiary of the Mahindra & Mahindra automotive and industrial conglomerate, and for the extensive network of food processing industries they serve, the grape’s cultivation and commerce have become a stark, almost poignant, illustration of the multifaceted climate challenges that now besiege modern agriculture.
The increasingly capricious harvest windows, the often-compromised fruit quality, the escalating costs of inputs—these are not isolated anomalies confined to the realm of viticulture. They are, instead, emblematic of the systemic disruptions rippling through global agriculture, disruptions widely attributed to the palpable and intensifying impact of anthropogenic global warming.
Putting Eggs In Different Baskets
In response to these evolving realities, Mahindra Agri Solutions, and a growing cohort of industry players across diverse sectors, are undergoing a strategic metamorphosis. The prevailing ethos is shifting perceptibly away from reactive, damage-control measures implemented in the aftermath of climatic shocks towards more proactive, anticipatory strategies designed to build inherent resilience and long-term sustainability.
Diversifying geographical growing regions, meticulously recalibrating time-honored farming methodologies, and deploying increasingly sophisticated weather monitoring and predictive systems are no longer perceived merely as tactical responses to ephemeral weather anomalies.
They are being embraced as preemptive, foundational actions meticulously designed to fortify agricultural operations against the anticipated, and largely unavoidable, uncertainties inherent in a climate undergoing profound transformation.
Ramesh Ramachandran, the MD and CEO of Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd., articulated this strategic pivot during a recent media briefing convened to commemorate two decades of Indian table grape exports to global markets. “Diversifying growing regions,” Ramachandran remarked, “serves as a critical countermeasure against the vagaries of unseasonal weather, allowing us to strategically source grapes from a mosaic of agroclimatic zones spanning Nashik, Sangli, and Baramati.”
This geographical diversification, he elaborated, is intrinsically linked to a broader corporate vision of business expansion predicated on “scope”—a deliberate exploration of synergistic opportunities extending beyond the confines of grape cultivation to encompass other high-value horticultural categories such as apples and pomegranates.
This expansive approach, Ramachandran emphasised, empowers Mahindra to not only broaden its product portfolio and mitigate risks associated with over-reliance on a single commodity, but also to strategically position itself within a more diversified and resilient agricultural ecosystem.
"Diversifying growing regions, when synergistically coupled with the judicious application of technology, constitutes a cornerstone of Mahindra's multifaceted response to the escalating challenges posed by climate change," Ramachandran noted. “This comprehensive approach,” he added, “is instrumental in upholding and consistently delivering superior grape quality, even amidst the increasingly pronounced variations in prevailing weather patterns.”
Capitalising on Rs 2500 Grape Export Market
The scale of India's table grape export industry is currently valued at approximately Rs 2,500 crore annually. Mahindra Agri Solutions, a significant player within this sector, generates a turnover of around Rs 150 crore from its grape export operations, contributing to the company’s overall turnover of approximately $100 million. Mahindra’s export reach extends across a geographically diverse spectrum of markets, encompassing North America, Europe, China, and Southeast Asia.
The company’s product portfolio features a wide array of grape varieties marketed under the brand names Saboro and Frukinz, including white seedless grapes such as Thomson and Sonaka, red seedless varieties like Flame and Crimson, and black seedless grapes such as Jumbo and Sharad.
In a competitive landscape characterised by over 80 other exporters, predominantly entrepreneurial ventures, Mahindra navigates a complex global market where it competes with established table grape exporters from Peru, Chile, and South Africa. The intricate tapestry of international fruit trade is further complicated by a web of bilateral agreements between nations, shaping market access and trade dynamics.
Hand-Holding the Farmers
MASL’s grape business operates through an intricate and collaborative network encompassing over 500 farmers located in the key grape-growing regions of Nashik, Baramati, and Sangli.
This symbiotic relationship is predicated on MASL’s procurement of premium quality table grapes directly from these farmers, coupled with the provision of comprehensive agronomic expertise and support in grape production and crop management.
This holistic approach encompasses the dissemination of best practices in irrigation and cultivation techniques, alongside initiatives aimed at judiciously reducing the utilisation of chemical inputs and optimising water usage.
These collaborative efforts are not only designed to enhance grape yield and quality, but also to tangibly diminish the carbon footprint associated with grape cultivation, while simultaneously and significantly augmenting the income streams of participating grape growers.
Post-harvest management of the harvested grapes is executed at MASL’s state-of-the-art grape packhouse facility situated in Nashik. Inaugurated in 2019, this meticulously designed facility serves as the central hub for the critical processes of sorting, packaging, and cold storage of table grapes.
This strategically integrated infrastructure ensures seamless end-to-end process control, maintaining the inherent freshness and quality of the perishable crop throughout the intricate supply chain and enabling comprehensive product traceability—a crucial attribute in today’s increasingly discerning global marketplace. The company has made a substantial capital investment of approximately Rs 29 crore in this strategically vital packhouse infrastructure.
Covering over 75,000 square feet, the Mahindra Grape packhouse is housed within 6.5 acres of land and can pack 80 metric tons (MT) of grapes per day. The packhouse has 12 precooling chambers and two cold storage facilities each with a capacity of 170 MT to preserve the freshness of grape produce.
To better help farmers understand these sustainable practices, MASL has an extensive 15 acres demo farm in Nashik, where new farming practices and varieties are tested and from where the company shares extensive knowledge of growing quality grapes with farmers in its network. MASL has enabled farmers to improve their exportable yields by 3X (from 2.5 MT per acre to 7.5 MT per acre), the company stated in a statement.
According to Ramachandran, Mahindra has cultivated robust and enduring relationships with discerning markets renowned for their stringent quality standards, such as Canada, Germany, and Switzerland.
In these premium markets, Mahindra strategically engages in direct supply arrangements with major retailers, guaranteeing consistent product quality that rigorously adheres to meticulously defined customer specifications, encompassing parameters such as sugar-acid ratios and precise grape size dimensions.
Achieving these exacting quality benchmarks, Ramachandran acknowledged, is an iterative and dynamic process, necessitating a continuous feedback loop that effectively integrates customer insights with agile adjustments across the entire supply chain.
He also highlighted the inherent complexities of international trade, particularly those stemming from the intricate web of tariffs and bilateral trade agreements. For instance, the European Union imposes an 8% tariff on Indian grape imports, while markets such as Canada and Southeast Asia benefit from zero-tariff preferential access.
These intricate tariff structures exert a significant influence on Mahindra’s strategic decision-making processes pertaining to market expansion, partnership formations, and overall global market penetration strategies.
The Rise and Rise of Indian Grapes
KL Chadha, a former Deputy Director General and National Professor of Horticulture at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), in his June 2024 article titled 'Historical Insight into Grape Introduction, Spread, Establishment, Status, and Future Prospects in India,' provides valuable historical context, suggesting that commercial viticulture in India is a relatively recent phenomenon, spanning approximately seven decades.
Remarkably, India has achieved the distinction of possessing the highest grape productivity globally and has ascended to the 7th position in global grape production volume. The state of Maharashtra stands as the epicenter of grape cultivation in India, accounting for approximately 73% of the nation's total grape production, with the primary cultivation regions concentrated within the four districts of Nashik, Sangli, Solapur, and Pune.
Indian fresh grape exports have witnessed substantial growth, escalating from 20,647 tonnes in 2000-01 to 246,134 metric tons in 2018-19, reaching a value of Rs 2,33,525.08 lakh (US $ 334.8 million), as reported by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) in 2019. Indian grapes are currently exported to over 63 countries.
Increasing Domestic Presence With Premiumisation
As the conversation meandered towards the prospect of augmenting Mahindra's presence within the burgeoning domestic market, Ramachandran elucidated the expanding opportunities arising from evolving consumer behavior in India. He observed a palpable shift in Indian consumer preferences, characterised by an increasing willingness to allocate discretionary expenditure towards premium products.
This pronounced "premiumisation" trend, Ramachandran emphasised, is not an isolated phenomenon confined to the automotive sector, where the acquisition of vehicles exceeding Rs 30 lakh is no longer considered exceptional. It is demonstrably permeating the food sector as well, with Indian consumers increasingly seeking out and actively purchasing high-quality, premium food products.