Emami Agrotech Ltd. (EAL), part of the Emami Group, is keen on setting up an edible oil refining facility in Karnataka as it is central to the company’s plans to increase its footprint in the western and the southern regions, according to a top official.
“We are looking for land around Mangalore Port in Karnataka and JNPT in Maharashtra. A plant near Kandla Port in Gujarat is under implementation,” said Aditya Vardhan Agarwal, Director, Emami Group.
Crucial projects“These three projects are crucial to our plans of expanding our reach in the west and the south,” said Mr.Vardhan.The company has edible oil capacity of 4,000 tonnes a day split between Haldia in West Bengal and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
EAL makes edible oils like mustard, sunflower, soyabean, palmolein, rice-bran and other blended oils. It is expanding the Haldia capacity by 30 per cent while adding a bakery-fat making facility in Andhra Pradesh.The Rs.300 crore expansion of the Haldia facility will make the unit the largest single-location edible oil refinery in India.
The company needs small parcels of land, located in close proximity to ports. Mr Agarwal said since the industry was import-dependent, port-based plant location was crucial. It had sought the help of Karnataka Government for getting about 25 acres of land for a Rs.250-crore palm and sunflower oil facility. “Edible oil is all about sourcing and logistics,” Mr. Agarwal remarked.
He said that the acquisition of Rasoi Vanaspati in 2014 with which it entered the vanaspati segment is doing well and the company is open to acquisitions. He declined further comment but industry sources said the company had been offered a national brand.
AP facilityIt is investing Rs.100 crore by December to expand its facility in Andhra Pradesh where it has capacity to make 1200 tons of palm and sunflower oil, daily. “We have in the pipeline investments of around Rs.950 crores ,” Mr. Agarwal said.
