Pune district and Panchgani are thriving hubs of food processing units today. Pune/Panchgani is surrounded by vast tracts of arable, agricultural land and is known for its agriculture and agro-business. Proximity to urbanized markets such as Mumbai, Nasik, Nagpur, Aurangabad etc., changing food habits, cosmopolitan nature of the city, connectivity to JNPT and hence convenience of exports etc. are the factors that have given the required boost to make this segment a fast-growing one in Pune.

The cluster produces a range of products comprising semi-processed ready mix products, pickles, jams, jellies, squashes & syrups, Ready to Eat/Ready to Cook products ground & processed spices and papad. The units are located in the district of Pune and others agglomerated in and around Panchgani (District Satara)

Geographical Location of the cluster

The fruits & vegetables units cluster is located in the Dist. of Pune and in and around Panchgani (Dist.Satara)

Product Segmentation

The products covered under various segments for the purpose of the project implementation are given below.

1. Spices & Pickles: This segment covers basic raw spices, spice mixtures (powders and pastes), pickles as well as papads. There is also a trend to move towards Ready-to-Cook Spice gravies or powders; which are also included in this category.

2. Fruit and Vegetable processing: Products such as dehydrated vegetables, vegetable and fruit powders, jams, sauces, purees, etc. are included in this segment. All products covered in this segment require an FPO license.

3. Ready-to Eat (RTE)/ Ready-to-Cook products (RTC): Heat-and-eat products are classified as Ready-to-Eat or RTE products. These are in the form of cooked curries or frozen pulps, frozen foods on which no further processing is required. Ready-To-Cook or RTC products are those on which some final level of cooking is required before they can be consumed. Ready-to-cook spice mixes have been accounted for under the Spices category and not RTC because they are an ingredient rather than the final product.

Size

Pune Fruits & Vegetables Cluster: Size in terms of Turnover, Employment, & Investment in Plant & Machinery

Source : MCCIA estimates

Competitive Strength/Weaknesses of Cluster

Linkages & Overall Cohesiveness in the Cluster

The structure of food processing industry in Pune is highly heterogeneous in terms of the range of products, technology used, problems faced and facilities required therein. The level of organization, type and strength of linkages that exist within the various processing units producing different range of products do not reflect cohesiveness among themselves.

The business dynamics of the smaller and tiny units do not reflect the need to cooperate on process parameters. The units producing pickle, tomato ketchup, jams and jellies all undertake processing within their own premises with little or no affiliation to the other smaller and tiny units. The market pressures, both domestic and external, have also not been too conducive to developing linkages for joint marketing. The size of units, nature of local markets and the horizon of entrepreneurs have all contributed to this phenomenon from processing to marketing activities.

Micro and small units dominate the F&V processing in the cluster. However, these entrepreneurs, face very unique problems in their operations, In most units, the entrepreneur himself looks after the purchase, testing, technology, marketing, labor supervision, tax planning etc. A group or co-operative approach can help in taking care of a few functional areas of entrepreneurs eg: Sourcing of raw materials, R&D etc. wherein certain product developments can be facilitated through a common agency locally which will be more effective for micro enterprises.

The only exception is the papad industry where manufacturing is undertaken generally at the workers premises from the prepared dough that is provided from the centralized premises of the unit. The finished product is then packed manually in the centralized premises in simple polythene sheets and then marketed through its appointed agents who directly transport the goods to the institutions and the retail shops on strictly cash basis.

Current Status of BDS Absorption & Possibilities

The type of BDS used in the Pune F&V cluster reveals that among the small & medium enterprises banking & financial services are the most widely used business development services. This is followed by transportation & testing labs. The low tech nature of the cluster is well reflected by the small percentage of firms using machinery & computer supplier services. Packaging and training services are other important services used extensively in the cluster though there may be quality issues in these domains. This is followed by marketing consultants & agencies. The least used services are those of Bar coding, cold storage chains & food technologist. The local clientele catering nature of the cluster can be noticed from the small percentage of firms utilising the services of marketing agencies & consultants.