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Two-Way Trade: Slow but Steady
family, cultural and private consultant networks; joint ventures with foreign firms; use of franchising
and process licensing in unfamiliar markets; and piggybacking on the activities of a large multinational
as a supplier or vendor.
As indicated in the earlier discussions on India’s economy and education, India’s needs at all levels
may present a large export opportunity for educational services. As each Indian state has its
own rules and regulations, good local partners are required, and customization of content and
delivery to India’s environment is essential. But innovative delivery of content and curricula, and
particularly on-line and technical or professional education, offers a promising field for partnerships.
As will be discussed later in this report in the sections on semiconductors and computing,
Bay Area technology companies are already in the forefront of this process, addressing Indian
community needs through a range of innovative corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Today Almonds, Tomorrow Pistachios
Agriculture may well be the last segment of global trade to open,
long after services, investment, and even intellectual property.
Farm tariffs, subsidies and other barriers have been the third rail of
multilateral trade negotiations for a variety of reasons: to preserve
rural economies, ensure food security, protect political constituencies,
preserve cultural traditions, or simply raise revenue.
Accessing India’s huge consumer market is a top priority for Mark
Masten, as head of sales for California’s largest pistachio nut producer,
Paramount Farms, and as chair of the U.S.-India Business
Council’s agricultural committee, which includes some of the largest
U.S. agribusiness producers. Paramount, based in Lost Hills in
the San Joaquin Valley, owns nearly 100,000 acres on which it
grows 100 million pounds of pistachios and 80 million pounds of
almonds each year.
The 17-year old, privately-held company is looking to increase its
pistachio yield by half and double almond production in the next
few years—part of a global strategy to scale up output and reduce
per unit costs to compete worldwide. India is a logical target market:
dried fruits and nuts are a popular part of the Indian diet;
pistachios, called pistas in India, are especially popular as gifts
during the Diwali holiday in November, which coincides with an
August–October California harvesting season; and pistachios are
not widely grown in India. Of a total domestic market of 8,000 to
10,000 tons, some 6,000 are imported, mainly from Iran and
Afghanistan and about 30 tons come from California. Paramount
estimates that the market could to grow to 25,000 tons by 2012.
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