Himalya starts $2.5 mn mozzarella unit in HP

Himachal Pradesh-based Himalya International Ltd, a leading food-processing unit of the region, is diversifying into mozzarella cheese production.

The company has invested $2.5 million in the project and 19 per cent of the investment has been funded by US-based First Family Holding through the foreign direct investment route.

The company's Managing Director Man Mohan Malik told Business Standard that the pilot project at Ponta Sahib in the state was commissioned today in the presence of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies Subodh Kant Sahay. Malik revealed that a mega-project with an investment of $40 million was on the anvil and would be operational by next year.

Buffalo milk, available in plenty in Punjab and Haryana, is the main ingredient for mozzarella cheese. So the new plant would be located on the borders of the two states, he said.

Elaborating on the project, Malik pointed out that according to the National Dairy Research Institute, the Karnal Murrah variety of buffalo yielded the best quality milk for mozzarella. So Haryana and Punjab, which have a large number of Murrah cattle, was ideal for the project, he added.

He said the company's foreign partners would help in technology transfer and market access. Winina Foods, North America's largest producer and distributor of wheat, would market Himalya's mozzarella cheese through newly-formed company Artiginale Italiano Inc., which is a 100 per cent export-oriented unit. North America and the European market will be the main export destinations.

Malik said mozzarella was a specialised product with a price that was double that of ordinary cheese so the demand for it in the domestic market was minuscule.

The company has put up milk two collection centres at Mohali for the cheese plant which requires about 150,000 litres of milk everyday.

Malik proposed to facilitate about 1,000 dairy farms in the region to source good quality milk. The company will provide training to farmers on the quality and hygiene levels mandatory to sell in the developed markets.

According to Malik, Himalya International would be the first company outside Italy to specialise in mozzarella cheese production. The project would create direct employment for 100 people and indirect employment for about 20,000 people.

The company has a food processing unit in Ponta Sahib that exports processed mushrooms and fresh vegetables. It sources fresh vegetables through contract farming, apart from its in-house mushroom production.

Himalaya International Limited clocked a turnover of Rs 25 crore this year and expects to touch Rs 75 crore next year.