Suguna Foods has commissioned a 5 lakh-tonne capacity upgraded pellet feed mill plant in Maharashtra valued at Rs.100 crore. The plant, at Khadakjamb, near Nasik, can be expanded to 7.5 lakh tonne per annum.
The project was funded through debt-internal accruals in the ratio of 60:40, Sundararajan G. B., Managing Director, Suguna Foods, told a press conference. Suguna has a market share of around 15 per cent in poultry feed.
The $10-billion Indian broiler industry is estimated to be growing at 9 per cent. With an annual production of 3 billion broilers, India is the world’s fifth largest poultry meat producer.
The Nasik plant will procure 3 lakh tonnes of maize, 1.5 lakh tonnes of soya and other agricultural commodities from the farming community in Maharashtra.
The Coimbatore-headquartered Suguna Foods has fully integrated operations, covering broiler and layer farming, hatcheries, mills, processing plants, vaccines and exports. “We have been extremely successful in South India, and now plan to move to other geographies and newer regions,” Mr. Sundararajan said. “This project is part of Suguna’s growth strategy in the western region,” he added.
Suguna plans to invest Rs.100-150 crore per annum on technology upgradation and increasing capacity in north India. It plans to set up new feed mills in West Bengal, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, and is exploring new geographies of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.