Indian foods major, Keventer is set to invest Rs 400 crore in setting up new food processing facilities across Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar and West Bengal. Construction at all four projects is slated to begin by the end of this fiscal.
Of Rs 400 crore, the company will invest Rs 150 crore in Gujarat, where spread over 120 acres, Keventer will set up a processing unit for ready to eat foods. In Karnataka, on the other hand, the company will invest Rs 105 crore in setting up a food pulping unit on 100 acres.
Keventer, which is the manufacturer of brands such as Fruti, Appy Fizz and Hippo has acquired in Bihar 120 acres for a maize based unit near Bhagalpur which will process starch, glucose, and dextrose at in investment of Rs 120 crore.
In Bengal, the group has tied up with Carso, a France based global food testing laboratory. The Rs 25 crore investment in the state will be used for setting up a testing laboratory.
“We are, through a marked expansion plan looking at realizing the opportunities that are currently presented by the potential India has to become a global food destination”, said M K Jalan, chairman, Keventer Group.
West Bengal, where the group is headquartered will get the least of the expansion pie, Jalan said, attributing this to the paucity of land in the state, along with the problems that have occurred in the past when land for industry has become a point of debate.
“Bengal has a standing problem where land is concerned, both in terms of availability and policy on acquisitions. In all other states on the other hand, we have land already in possession”, said Jalan.
The Bengal tasting centre which is to be complete by March will be formed as a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Carso and Keventer.
“At present we export goods worth over $200 million, of which 50 per cent go to the European Union (EU). This centre will afford our products an EU certification which will increase product valuation by 25 per cent”, said Jalan.
