Small is big
Mamta
Sen explores the efforts made by small-scale food processing companies
and discovers their value addition in the country's economic system
Varied
climates and a long coastline are the two main contributors for India's
ranking as the leading food producer. Although blessed with an abundant
supply, the food processing industry sadly has remained nascent, with
only two per cent of fruit and vegetables and 15 per cent of milk produce
being processed. Inspite of this, the industry stands at the number
five slot and accounts for nearly 13 per cent of the country's exports
and six per cent of total industrial investment according to the Ministry
of External Affairs. In this bland scenario, it's high time family run
businesses and non-profit ventures be looked at in detail since both
diverse setups have survived the globalisation surprise, which the country
received some years ago.
Parsi Dairy Farm
Family owned trades continue to dominate in areas
of quality and efficiency, like Mumbai's very own Parsi Dairy Farm founded
by Ardeshir Nariman. Everyday, at dawn a small army of men clad in khaki
shorts and ink-blue cotton shirts, begin their milk march to thousands
of households, hotels, offices and banks across the city and suburbs
from their main office in South Mumbai. Nearly 30-40 litres of milk
are carried by each in aluminum cans and delivered at the doorsteps-a
norm that remains practically unchanged since it first began supplying
farm fresh milk in 1916. The organisation had earlier made an attempt
to use polythene pouches, but the idea failed since customers wanted
milk delivered straight from the sealed can-a precaution for keeping
them tamper proof. Though the Dairy earlier kept around 1,500 buffaloes
in stables near its main office, due to certain hygiene conditions and
growing congestion in Mumbai, it eventually began sourcing out milk
from privately owned stables in the suburbs of northern Mumbai and Varwada
in Thane district.
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