VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF APPLE FRUIT

The apple tree was perhaps the earliest tree to be cultivated and its fruits have been improved

through selection over thousands of years. At 2.49 million metric tons, initial estimates have

India set to reach an average apple crop this year. With local consumption surpassing output,

this volume will not be enough to keep up with demand. Despite the nation’s place as the

world’s fifth largest apple producer, India will have trouble meeting growing local demand for

the fruit. Infrastructure and supply chain issues are expected to provoke continued post-

harvest losses.

Apple is one of the most widely grown temperate fruit crops grown in Himalayas of Northern

India. Almost all the apples grown in India come from its three mountainous states i.e.

Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Uttarakhand. It is the most important fruit crop or cash crop of

the hill State of Himachal Pradesh and constitutes about 49 per cent of the total area under

fruit crops — about 85 per cent of the total fruit production. The apple fruit, having an

economy of around INR 35 billion, is grown mainly in the districts of Shimla, Kinnaur, Kullu,

Mandi, Chamba and some parts of Sirmaur and Lahaul-Spiti. The supply chain of apples is

laden with inefficiencies across the entire value chain leading to poor price realization of

growers on one hand and exorbitant prices paid by consumers on the other.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

To study and present the value chain of Apple in India, primarily focused in the state of

Himachal Pradesh. The study should be comprehensive and it should assess the issues related

to the backward and forward linkages of the apple farmers and traders.

Outline of the expected outcomes: (Please note that the below list is not comprehensive)

1. Studying the journey of the apples from farm to the fork

2. The economics of apple production

3. The supply chain and marketing of apples

4. Issues and opportunities in the apple sector

CASH PRIZES The top 2 best teams will receive cash prizes sponsored by ASI: 1st prize: INR 10,000 2nd prize: INR 5,000

GUIDELINES Rules:

1. All students in their first or second year of post graduate program in management are eligible. 2. A team should consist of minimum 2 and maximum 4 participants. 3. Participants of a team must be from the same institute. 4. A person cannot be part of more than one team. 5. Participants are expected to stick to the context provided in problem statement. 6. Decisions made by the organizing committee will be final and binding. Registration:

All teams are required to register in the link provided in the mail. Deadline for registration is 23:59:59 4th October 2015 Submission guidelines:

1. Submission should be in PowerPoint format. 2. Presentation should contain a maximum of 15 slides (including the title and thank

you slides). 3. Title slide should include team name, team member names, email- id, contact

number of each member and title of case study 4. Last date of submission is 7th October 2014 by 23:59:59. Mail your submissions

at igfab@iiml.ac.in. 5. Presentation should adhere to the naming convention given below – i. Name of the Presentation: [teamname_institute.ppt] or

[teamname_institute.pptx] ii. Subject line of the mail: [TeamName]_LAKSHYA_Submission

6. The qualifying teams for the finalists will be declared within 2 days after submissions

7. Outstation finalist teams’ final presentation will take place through video conferencing if the team is unable to reach the IIM Lucknow campus on the day of final presentation

To keep track of the latest updates on LAKSHYA, like our page: https://www.facebook.com/IGFAB

For more information regarding the project please contact: Arun Bharti - +91 9956402063 Ankita Raj- +91 9451893953