Thousands of registered food and beverage processing units, leading brands of food products, production of several agricultural products – these factors have all made Erode a destination for food processing sector.
Be it dairy products, masala powders, pastry or traditional snacks, the district has hundreds of units, from small-scale ones to well-known brands.
According to Rasumani, general manager of District Industries Centre, Erode, there are 10,720 registered micro, small and medium-scale enterprises in the food processing sector in the district. There are about 100 large-scale units too, besides several unregistered units.
“Almost 50 per cent of the milk supplied to Bengaluru is from Erode,” says P. Thirumurthy, secretary of Erode District Small-Scale Industries (EDDISIA).
He says, “There is a 25 per cent growth in food industries in Erode over the recent years. The abundance of agricultural products such as coconut, lemon, turmeric, sugarcane and milk, surplus availability of workers, and sufficient water supply attract industrialists to set up processing units here.”
Since the district has these strengths, the association has appealed to the Centre to establish an agro-park as a special economic zone in the district.
One of the well-known food products from Erode is Aavin’s palgova. “Aavin was established in Erode in 1979 to cater to the milk needs of Chennai. Processed milk was transported through road and rail tankers. Currently, Aavin has expanded its market and supplies to local consumers too,” says an official of Aavin. Erode stands third in the State in procurement of milk next to undivided Salem (Salem and Namakkal) and North Arcot districts (Vellore and Tiruvannamalai).
“Erode is an ideal location for business. We never had to import any raw material. We get everything here,” says Raja, who started Milka Wonder Cake in Erode in 1989.
Now the company has its manufacturing units in Tirunelveli, Coimbatore, Salem, and Chennai. “Initially, we baked only bread here. Gradually we started to sell cakes, rusks and biscuits. We sell across the south Indian States and export to the UAE too,” he says.
P. Thirumurthy, managing director of Sakthi Fruits, says, “With industrial experience gained from working for other industries, we began Sakthi Fruits in 1994 as a family venture. Since then, we have grown considerably, offering jams, sauces, tutti frutties and papaya cube candies. Since Erode has surplus production of papaya, the company plans to expand its product portfolio, especially items made out of papaya.”
(with inputs from Dharsini Kathirvel)
