Jindal Drugs has announced plans to manufacture cocoa powder and cocoa fat at its Jammu plant and begin commercial production by February 2009.
The cooca powder and fat are derived from cocoa beans and are mainly used for making chocolate and flavoured drinks. Set up at an investment of Rs 120 crore, the Jammu plant will have a capacity to process 25,000 tonnes of cocoa beans.
Currently, the plant is under trial run and is processing about 8,000-10,000 tonnes of beans, producing about 700 tonnes of cocoa powder and 650 tonnes of cocoa fat at a recovery rate of 35 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.
The company plans to process 12,000-15,000 tonnes of beans a year, once it starts commercial production in February next year and by the end of 2009-10, the company plans to double the quantity.
