An update on the M&A market in India

How do you feed 17.7% of the world’s population during a pandemic? What lessons have been learned during lockdown? Could India take on the role of the world’s future supplier of organic sustainable produce? Can agro-tech enable smallholders to increase productivity and food security? Which investment avenues look most resilient? This issue of M&A Insights India focuses in particular on the Indian food & agri (F&A) industry’s response to the pandemic and how the sector’s future strategy with respect to the new normal translates to opportunities for emerging markets.

Prasanth Prabhakaran, MD and CEO of YES Securities (India) Limited, Oaklins' member firm in Mumbai, introduces this edition of the magazine dedicated to M&A in India with a broad update on COVID-19’s impact on India’s economy before welcoming business leaders’ insights into the F&A space.

Parag Khadgi, senior president of YES Securities, kicks off by outlining lockdown’s impact on current F&A market performance and looking at the government initiatives employed to support the sector, as well as recent key M&A deals.

Balram Singh Yadav, managing director of Godrej Agrovet, shares his company’s experience as a food producer during lockdown and talks about the effectiveness of the government measures applied to help businesses confront issues faced during the pandemic. He offers valuable insights into likely structural changes within the industry post-COVID-19.

Rajesh Srivastava, executive chairman at Rabo Equity Advisors, gives an investor’s viewpoint of the pandemic and provides expert advice on how to sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to finding the most resilient areas to cultivate.

Doug Kravet, Oaklins’ organic & sustainable agriculture specialist, examines global trends behind the rapidly expanding organic & sustainable agriculture sector and the opportunities for emerging markets to supply growing demand for sustainable organic produce by making effective use of ag-tech to increase productivity.