Sanwaria Agro Oils, a Bhopal based edible oil company, has decided to join a consortium for corporate farming of soybeans and other oilseeds, which will invest in Latin America through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) and will use the crops captively, the company said in a communication to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Other major parties in the SPV are Ruchi Soya, KS Oils and government owned STC.
This initiative is being facilitated by the Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors' Association of India.
The SPV has identified about 10,000 hectares of land in Uruguay and Paraguay to be purchased at a cost of Rs 200 crore.
The SPV has made an application to EXIM bank to sanction the amount as loan, said Anil Agarwal, director of Sanwaria Agro Oils.
India meets nearly 45 per cent of the 120 million tonne edible oil requirement through imports.
“We will bring back the produce to India and process it,” Agarwal said.