ITC eyes 40 acres for food unit in West Bengal

ITC Ltd which had been scouting for land in West Bengal for a food processing unit for quite some time now, is in the advanced stages of discussions with the West Bengal government for purchasing about 40 acres in the state.

The company's other agri-retail initiatives in the state, like e-chaupal, would depend upon the operations of the plant, said Nazeeb Arif, vice president, corporate communications, ITC Ltd, on the sidelines of a seminar on Model APMC Rules in Kolkata on Tuesday.

"We are keen to start a food processing unit in West Bengal. The dialouge for getting a suitable land is on with the West Bengal government. We have reached an agreement with the government over the site," he said.

He however did not give any time frame for signing a deal with the government in this regard.

The total investment in the plant would be Rs 300 crore, and it would mainly cater to the ITC snacks line Bingo. After launch, Bingo had already captured about 15 per cent of market share in the potato-based processed food products category, which necessitated setting up another plant for potato processing, Arif said.

"The demand has outstripped the facility, so unless we put up another plant, we would not be able to cope-up with the demand," he added.

ITC had also drawn a detailed plan for its e-chaupal initiative in the state, and its format would depend upon the capacity of the food processing plant, he added.

"Our e-chaupal initiative will depend on the capacity of our new plant. It does not make sense to procure potatoes in West Bengal and process them in Uttaranchal. So once we have a processing unit in West Bengal, we will think about the chaupal initiative. Its format would depend upon the capacity," he said.

Earlier, ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar had said the company was unable to start an agri-cum-food project in West Bengal, as the state was yet to the provide land.