As per the National Horticulture Database published by National Horticulture Board, during 2015-16, India produced 169.1 million metric tonnes of vegetables. The area under cultivation of vegetables was cultivated at 10.1 million hectares. India is the largest producer of ginger and okra amongst vegetables and ranks second in production of potatoes, onions, cauliflowers, brinjal, Cabbages, etc.

• In the fiscal year 2019, the total production of vegetables was estimated to be at approximately 185 million metric tons. These vegetables include potatoes, tomatoes, onions, eggplants and cabbages among others. As a leading producer of low-cost fruits and vegetables, the country had an enormous export market.
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•  India exported fresh vegetables worth Rs 168 crore and fresh onions worth Rs 12.7 crore to the UK in 2017-18, and trade sources said about 30 tonnes to 50 tonnes of vegetables are shipped to London on a daily basis. These declined by about 20% in the summer season when Indian vegetables grown in southern Europe compete with vegetables exported from India.
• The major destinations for Indian vegetables are Bangladesh, UAE, Netherland, Nepal, Malaysia, UK, Sri Lanka, Oman and Qatar.
   
• Another factor that may turn favourable for Indian exports is related to the quarantine rules. Traders expect that the UK will not be bound by the very strict quarantine rules of the EU and may draft its own rules as per its requirements.

Policy Support and Key Fiscal Incentives

• 100% in the trading, including through e-commerce, for food products produced and/or manufactured in India.
• Scheme for Human Resources and Institutions
• Scheme for Creation/Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities
• Scheme for Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages
• Scheme for Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters
• Scheme for Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure
• Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure
• Government of India has approved setting up of 42 MFPs in the country, out of which 41 have been sanctioned by MoFPI. Of the 41 MFPs, 9 have already commenced operations. The parks have more than 1,200 developed plots (of approximately 1 acre each) with basic infrastructure enabled, that entrepreneurs can lease for the setting up of food processing and ancillary units.
• Scheme for Mega Food Park (MFP)
• Concessional Customs Duty on imported equipment
• Basic Custom Duty reduced on Refrigerated Containers from 10% to 5%
• Profit for new food processing, preservation and packaging units
• Capital expenditure for cold chain/warehouse

% Income Tax Deductions on:

• GST implementation to harmonize the tax regime-seamless operations across states.
• Food Safety Standards harmonized with international standards.
• A special fund of INR 2,000 crore (USD 300 million) with NABARD for designated food parks and processing units.
• Food processing units can avail preferential rates under Priority Sector Lending.
• 100% permitted through automatic route in the food processing sector.

State-wise Area and Production of various Horticulture Crops during the Year 2018-19

UTTAR PRADESH

Uttar Pradesh is the second-largest producer of horticultural crops in the country.  The State produces about 25.8 m. MT of horticulture produces from an area of 1.45 m. ha. and accounts for 9.3% of total horticultural production of the country.  The major horticulture produce comprises vegetables (71.9%) and fruits (26.7%).

• 63.99 lakh MT of vegetable have been traded in organized markets with an average price of Rs. 10.48/ Kg.
• The state accounts for 2.0% of the total production of cauliflower in the country.
• Uttar Pradesh accounts for 2.0% of total production of okra in the State.
• Uttar Pradesh is the leader in the production of potato and accounts for 33.0% of the total production of potato in the country.

WEST BENGAL

With a production of 26.68 m. MT of horticulture produces from an area of 1.78 m. ha., West Bengal is the largest producer of horticultural crops accounting for 9.6% of total horticultural production in the country.

The major horticulture produce comprises vegetables (86.4%). The State produces 23.04 m. MT of vegetables from an area of 1.38 m. ha. with the productivity of 16.7 t/ha.  Production of fruits comprises 10.9 % of the total production of horticultural crops in the State.

• During 2013-14, 10.89 lakh MT of vegetable have been traded in organized markets with an average price of Rs. 21.38/ Kg.
• West Bengal is the leader in production of brinjal and accounts for 23.0% of total production of brinjal in the country.
• West Bengal is the leader in production of cabbage and accounts for 24.0% of total production of cabbage in the country.
• West Bengal is the leader in production of cabbage and accounts for 24.0% of total production of cabbage in the country.
• West Bengal is the second largest producer of potato after Uttar Pradesh and accounts for 22.0% of the total production of potato in the country.

MADHYA PRADESH

Madhya Pradesh is producing about 19.77 m MT of horticulture produce from an area of 1.20 m ha. and accounts for 7.1% of total horticulture production of the country. The major share of horticulture produce is from vegetables (65.8%) and fruits (28.8%).

• During 2013-14, 15.86 lakh MT of vegetable have been traded in organized markets with an average price of Rs. 10.67/ Kg.
• State produces about 8.0% of total brinjal produce of the country with the production of 1.07 m MT from an area of 0.04 m ha having productivity of 25 MT/ha.
• State produces about 8.0% of total brinjal produce of the country with the production of 1.07 m MT from an area of 0.04 m ha having productivity of 25 MT/ha.
• Madhya Pradesh is the fourth-largest producer of cauliflower and accounts for 8.0% of the total production of cauliflower in the country.
• Madhya Pradesh contributes about 5.0% of okra to the total production of okra in the country.

State-wise Area and Production of Vegetables

India’s horticulture production in 2019-20 is expected to be 0.84 per cent higher than in 2018-19. Vegetable production is expected to increase by 2.64 per cent in 2019-20 over 2018-19. This is mainly due to increased production of onion, potato and tomato, following a huge shortage that drove up onion prices to levels above Rs100 a kg.

Area and Production Growth Trends for Vegetable Crops in India

In the current year, the production of staple vegetable crops – onions, potatoes and tomatoes -- is expected to be higher as compared 2017-18. While potato production is projected to go up by 6 per cent to 52.58 mt from 51.31 mt last year, that of onion is pegged at 23.62 mt, 1.5 per cent higher than the 23.26 mt in 2017-18. Tomato production, on the other hand, is estimated to be 2 per cent higher at 20.51 mt

Top Vegetable Crop Production in India, during 2018-19

Onion production is expected to be 24.45 million tonnes, up 7.17 per cent, compared to 22.82 million tonnes in 2018-19.

Potato production is expected to be 51.94 million tonnes, up 3.49 per cent,  compared to 50.19 million tonnes in 2018-19.

Tomato production is expected to be 19.33 million tonnes, up 1.68 per cent, compared to 19.01 million tonnes in 2018-19.

Total horticulture production in the country stood at 310.74 million tonnes in 2018-19, as per final estimates released by the ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare. This is marginally higher than the horticulture production in 2017-18. 

India is the world’s second-largest producer of vegetables. To reduce wastage of fresh vegetables, and to add value to them, processes like canning, dehydration, pickling, provisional preservation and bottling have been introduced. However, percentage of processing of fruits and vegetables is currently less than 3% as compared to countries like China (23%), the United States (65%) and Philippines (78%).

The Indian vegetable processing industry experiences a conducive growth environment, owing to the abundant supply of raw materials and favourable government policies like Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY). Rising consumer affordability and rapid urbanization resulted in lifestyle changes, following which the preference for processed fruits and vegetables increased substantially. Nevertheless, several factors like the lack of required infrastructure, and higher cost of processed fruits and vegetables are the major hurdle to the growth of the industry.

The industry is witnessing an increased application of innovative technology to increase productivity. Artificial intelligence (AI) is being implemented to examine fresh vegetables for defects, and accurately predict the exact date of decay. Nanotechnology is aiding in maintaining the freshness of perishables. Furthermore, grading robots are used to evaluate the quality of the product to minimize manual errors. Cold plasma, high-pressure processing, irradiation and radio frequency identification (RFID) are technologies that are mostly used in the fruit and vegetable industry in India.

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