We Grow for the World, But the World Builds the Brand

Hans India

2 days ago

In the heartlands of India, harvest season brings its own kind of celebration. Trucks line up at mandis, auction yards come alive, and tonnes of produce begin their journey outward. For decades, this has been the rhythm of rural prosperity - grow, ship, repeat.
But within that rhythm lies a silent loss. Because even when India leads the world in growing something, the real value often leaves with it. What we export is volume; what we lose is value.
This has played out across sectors. India is the world's largest producer of cotton - but Bangladesh exports more garments. We're among the top growers of turmeric - yet it's American and European brands that turn it into wellness gold. Even with Basmati rice, the leap from staple to premium export came only after years of policy attention, GI protection, and positioning.
Tobacco offers a striking example. India grows over 800 million kilograms annually, making it the second-largest producer globally. Yet only about 30% is exported - mostly as raw leaf. In FY 2023–24, India earned ₹12,006 crore (roughly $1.45 billion) from tobacco exports. A respectable figure - until one considers that our share of global tobacco leaf trade value is just 5%, despite producing 13% of the world's supply.
The gap becomes starker when we look at what others are doing. Countries like Italy and the UAE, with far less cultivation, dominate the high-value export segments - reconstituted tobacco, heated sticks, and next-generation formats. Global trade in these products (under HSN 240411) crossed $5 billion in 2023. India's share? Virtually nil.
The issue isn't just about tobacco. It's about the kind of economic model India is stuck in: one where the farm gate is the finish line. In this model, farmers grow, sell, and exit. The rest - processing, branding, export transformation - happens elsewhere. Which means the most profitable steps in the value chain are taken up outside the country.
It's a missed opportunity, not just in income, but in identity. India is a natural agri-export powerhouse - but unless we invest in value chains, not just crop cycles, we'll keep being the supplier, not the leader.
The good news is: we've broken this cycle before.
When India backed its spice exports with traceability and GI, global demand grew. When we modernised dairy processing, the world started buying Indian cheese and ghee. Where we built regulatory clarity, infrastructure, and incentives for value-added products - sectors took off.
The same blueprint can apply to underleveraged crops like tobacco, millets, or even medicinal plants. And the path forward is clear: this is not about growing more tobacco - it's about growing more value from the tobacco we already produce.
What's needed is a shift in policy imagination.
One that doesn't stop at MSPs or export subsidies for bulk goods — but looks at where real margins lie. That connects export hubs directly to growing regions through logistics frameworks like PM GatiShakti. That digitises supply chains to meet ESG and traceability standards now demanded by global buyers. And crucially, one that updates regulation - not to promote consumption, but to enable innovation and safe, compliant exports.
Tobacco is politically sensitive, yes. But it is also a case study in what happens when we grow without building. And it's far from the only one.
As Yaswanth Kumar Chidipothu, Chairman of the Tobacco Board of India, aptly noted, 'Only a disciplined approach can help the growers in the long run, particularly in the wake of increase in tobacco production in major nations.'
India has always grown with skill. But growth without strategy ends at the border.
The next leap must be different.
From growing crops — to growing value.
Authored by: Dr. Manish Kumar, Head, Dept of Economics, Easwari School of Liberal Arts, SRM University AP, Amravati