Hey readers,
You have probably seen those social media videos where someone compares the same food product sold in India with the version sold in Europe or Singapore. Sometimes, the differences are hard to miss.
Sometimes, the ingredients are different. Usually, added sugar levels are high in India. Sometimes, the packaging abroad carries clear warnings about sugar, salt or fat content. These comparisons often leave us wondering why the same company follows different standards in different markets.
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Now, let's forget about global food companies for some time. Let's turn to Indian companies selling food abroad. They face the same challenge from the other side: ingredients and labels often need to change from one market to another. Of course, they must follow the importing country's rules. But mistakes still happen, and they can be costly.
In fact, when Indian food shipments are rejected overseas, we might expect poor-quality produce or excessive pesticide residues to be the main culprits. But the data reveals that mislabelling is the most common reason for rejection. That's what I discuss in the article: Wrong Labels, High Pesticide Residues Holding Back Agri Exports
Now to a much bigger shipment, or rather, a very small one.
In 2015, Narendra Modi became the first Indian PM to visit Mongolia, with an eye on its coal and copper. More than a decade later, SAIL flew in one tonne of Mongolian coking coal for testing. One tonne. That tells you how slowly this game moves.
As India's demand for lithium, copper, and rare earths grows, Indian companies are placing bets across continents: lithium in Argentina and Zimbabwe, copper in the DRC, Australia, and Chile, and graphite in Tanzania. Securing access to minerals today could help India meet its industrial needs in the future.
But acquiring it is only the first step. The mine has to be developed. The ore has to be extracted and processed. The final product must then be transported to India at a cost that makes commercial sense.
And sometimes, things don't turn out as planned. Indian companies have lost some bids to rivals, some projects won't produce until 2030, and host countries like Zimbabwe now want minerals processed locally, which means even more investment abroad. So the real work extends far beyond signing an agreement or acquiring a mining block. Read more: India Is Going Abroad For Critical Minerals. But It May Take Years To Pay Off.
In both cases, the visible outcome depends on a much longer chain of work that we rarely see.
India has successfully concluded several trade agreements. More deals will also follow. These can bring more export orders, more investments and more business opportunities. But things can still go wrong along the way. An export shipment can be rejected because of a wrong label or pesticide residues. A mining project can take years to start production, or face protests from local communities in the country where the mine is located.
So, announcing a target or signing an agreement is one thing. Making sure it translates into actual business, and that the benefits reach us quickly and sustainably, is quite another. And that's where the real work begins.
That's the week.
If you made it this far, I'd love to hear from you.
Which of these stories stayed with you? What stories can you share around these topics?
And more importantly, what should I dig into next?
An everyday object, a policy, a price that suddenly changed, a trend that's growing around… send it my way. Just hit reply. I read everything.
See you next Saturday.
Cheers, Swapnil
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of NDTV Profit or its affiliates. Readers are advised to conduct their own research or consult a qualified professional before making any investment or business decisions. NDTV Profit does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented in this article
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