Food and agri conglomerate Godrej Agrovet will be setting up an edible oil processing plant in Khammam district, with an investment of ₹250 crore.
The facility to process palm oil will have a capacity of 30 tonnes per hour expandable to 60 TPH. This would be the single largest private investment in Khammam district, Industries and IT Minister K. T. Rama Rao’s office said after Godrej Agrovet managing director Balram Singh Yadav briefed the Minister about investment plans of the company.
Godrej Agrovet plans to operate the facility full scale by 2025-26. The factory will have a co-generation plant and self-sufficient in power requirement. Mr Yadav told Mr. Rao that this was one of the several initiatives under consideration across various business verticals of the company, which includes animal feed, aqua feed, agrochemicals, poultry processing and dairy sectors, in the State.
The investment announcement assumes significance in the backdrop of Telangana emphasis on promoting palm oil plantations to reduce dependence on imported oil. The State was planning palm oil plantation on 20 lakh acres and increase in oil seeds production.
The company said palm oil farmers were to be serviced through 10 –- one existing and nine proposed -- Godrej Samadhan centres and their extension team. Godrej is currently present across 10 mandals in Telangana, in Khammam and Bhadradri Kothagudem districts. As a measure to enhance productivity, the firm will deploy digital assets, including satellite/drone tracking of area under cultivation, image-based crop advisory services, farmer apps and sapling portal in the region. Godrej Agrovet Oil Palm business at Khammam and Kothagudem, including the processing facility, will result in employment generation for 250 people (direct jobs) and 500 indirect jobs.
