The value-added agri portfolio (including Coffee, Fruits & Vegetables, Spices etc.) recorded robust growth during the quarter.
The Indian economy continues to demonstrate macro-economic stability even as high frequency indicators such as automobile sales, bank credit & personal loan growth, credit card transaction volumes, GST collections, merchandise exports growth, manufacturing PMI etc. pointed to a deceleration in the pace of economic activity during the quarter. The quarter also witnessed excessive rains in August and September and a resurgence in food inflation which led to CPI hitting a 9-month high. The combination of these factors along with inflationary trends in commodity prices weighed on consumption expenditure and the FMCG sector.
Agri products; Segment PBIT up 27.5 per cent YoY. Strong growth in Leaf Tobacco exports leveraging strong customer relationships and new business development. Value-added agri portfolio (e.g. Coffee, Fruits & Vegetables, Spices) performed well in Q2 FY25.
The Company continues to engage with farmers to build crop resilience against extreme weather events through customised agronomy practices. The Climate Smart Agriculture programme covers over 28 lakh acres and about 7.5 lakh farmers in the country.
The value-added agri portfolio (including Coffee, Fruits & Vegetables, Spices etc.) recorded robust growth during the quarter. The Business continues to leverage the multi-dimensional capabilities of its state-of-the-art value-added Spices processing facility in Guntur to scale up exports.
Agility in operations, strong customer relationships and new business development enabled robust growth in leaf tobacco exports. Steep escalation in green leaf tobacco costs and surge in ocean freight weighed on margins; this was partially mitigated through strategic cost management initiatives. The AI/ML powered real-time buying platform continues to be scaled up to facilitate efficient leaf tobacco buying across auction platforms.
The Business continues to scale up interventions to build crop resilience against extreme weather events across agri value chains (including wheat, tobacco etc.) thereby enhancing crop competitiveness and protecting farmer incomes.
ITCMAARS (Metamarket for Advanced Agriculture and Rural Services) – a crop-agnostic ‘phygital’ full stack AgriTech platform has been scaled up across ten states. Over 1650 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) encompassing more than 1.7 million farmers have been added to the Company’s network.
The state-of-the-art facility to manufacture and export Nicotine & Nicotine derivative products conforming to US and EU pharmacopoeia standards, set up by the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, ITC IndiVision Limited, which was commissioned recently, has received EU REACH approvals. Product trials have been successfully completed on a pilot basis; trials at scale are underway. Export shipments are expected to be scaled up progressively.
