Stories

Thu, 11 Jun 2026

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 India's 'blue gold' starts a new drinks industry

Agave plants grow wild in India and new distillers are using them to create a spirits industry.

* A desert plant, agave cactus (Agave americana), has become a lucrative crop in India's Deccan Plateau, with farmers earning extra income by harvesting and processing it for tequila and mezcal production.
* The Indian market for agave spirits is growing at 31% annually, driven by rising demand from consumers looking to try new spirits.
* Agave plants are being harvested from wild sources in India, rather than being cultivated commercially like in Mexico, where the blue agave is farmed to supply the tequila industry.
* Harvesting agave requires precise timing and expertise, as the plant's sugar reserve is depleted quickly once it blooms.
* Transportation of the harvested agave hearts (piñas) must be done within 24 hours to prevent spoilage, making logistics a significant challenge for suppliers.
* Indian entrepreneurs are experimenting with using wild agave from the Deccan Plateau and exploring the potential for an "Indian agave identity" in the spirits market.
* Experts say that India's wild supply of agave is unlikely to be depleted for at least five years, given its ability to propagate itself through root-runners.
* However, the genetic inconsistency of Indian-grown agave plants makes standardizing production difficult compared to Mexico's farmed blue agave.