DNV India certifies one of India's major exporters of grapes and pomegranates - 'Indyglobal Ventures', to GlobalGAP standard. This is the first GlobalGAP certificate issued by DNV in India.
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Indyglobal is one of the major exporters of fresh grapes & pomegranates to supermarkets in UK such as Tesco, Morrison, Sommer Field, and to European supermarkets such as Aldi, Lidle, Rewe, Metro, to name a few. The European countries to which Indyglobal Ventures exports to are - Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Lithuania, Romania and Ukraine.
Mr. P. S. Tikare, Business Development and Key Accounts Manager, India, says that, “The main aim of the GlobalGAP standard certification to Indyglobal Ventures, is to enlighten its customers regarding the method of food production on the farm.” He added saying that, “Through this certification, we assure customers of minimizing detrimental environmental impacts of farming operations during production, by reducing the use of chemical inputs and ensuring a responsible approach to worker health and safety as well as animal welfare.”
Customer Management
Tikare continues saying, “We have certified the sister company of Indyglobal – M/s. Kris Flexipacks Pvt. Ltd. to BRC-IOP and looking at our practical approach towards the audit, we won the contract from Indyglobal for GlobalGAP certification.”
Mr. Paresh Bhayani, Partner of Indyglobal Ventures added, “We wanted the same audit approach for the GlobalGAP certification and we couldn’t think of any other company but DNV. DNV is a very professionally managed organisation with its audit process and methodology right on track. Perhaps we have decided to build-up our relationship with DNV and also discussed with them from time to time about the demand in the farm market in which DNV should focus-on more diligently.”
Market demand
“We met up with other Indian grape exporters in Nashik, in a meeting organised by Paresh Bhayani himself,” said Tikare. “We also met up with importers of Indyglobal Ventures - Ms. Karen Cleave & M/s Richard Hochfield Ltd., which helped us to understand the current grape market even better,” says Tikare.
“Subsequent to the discussions we had with other grape exporters & importers and after thorough market analysis, we have decided to concentrate in the ‘Farm sector’ by offering certification to TNC, GlobalGAP, HACCP, BRC & ETI audit for SEDEX,” said Tikare.
Mr. Krishnakumar, Director of Operations, India & Middle East, adds saying, “Operating in the Indian farm sector is totally new for us and we are happy with the customer responses. We now also have a qualified in-house agriculture expert, and this qualification will certainly help us build-up this business and be the preferred Food sector certification body."
Looking ahead
Indyglobal Ventures is a member of the ‘Produce Marketing Organisation’ (Producer group) - which is a group of producers applying for certification with an internal procedure and internal control of 100% of members registered to the GLOBALGAP requirements. This producer group consists of 47 grape growers located at Palkhed in Nasik District, India. “Hence our association with Indyglobal Ventures lead us towards securing 15 more contracts with grape growers. The audits of all these jobs secured are in progress,” says Sreekumar Nair, Project team member.
“Looking at the increasing demand for ‘Contract Farming’ in India, many international retailers are entering the Indian shores. We believe that, we have entered the agriculture market at the right time and will also venture into areas of fresh fruits and vegetables very soon,” avers Krishnakumar
"This certification is important to DNV India, as it is symbolizes DNV's presence from farm to fork. Colleagues from DNV Mumbai must be credited with this initiative. The excellent cooperation from DNV Italy is a good example to building new business initiatives succeeding cross border,” concludes Krishnakumar.