Starch companies set to ramp up production

Starch producers across the country are on an expansion drive. Following the rising demand from paper, pharma, food and textile industries, the starch industry has geared up with new projects, which are likely to go on stream within two years from now.

The country mainly produces starch from maize. According to estimates, the overall maize crushing capacity per day is around 5,500 tonnes per day (tpd). Out of this, starch production makes up 60-65 per cent, i.e; 3,500 tonnes per day.

"With industries growing, the starch requirement will shoot up. In fact, the demand is rising," said Amol S Sheth, president, All India Starch Manufacturers Association. 

CAPACITY ADDITION
Company	Existing capacity	Addition	Investment
	Tonnes per annum		Rs crore
RSGBL	2,81,000	1,65,000	100
GAEL	1,80,000	1,80,000	65
BSL	82,800	1,80,000	250
Sahyadri	90,000	54,000	27
Sanghvi Foods	Nil	72,000	41

Currently, the domestic consumption stands at around 12 lakh tonnes per annum (tpa). Industry sources said that that the demand for starch is rising with an average rate of 20 per cent per annum. This means, at the current pace, the demand after two years will surge to 17.3 lakh tonnes per annum.

Riddhi Siddhi Gluco Biols (RSGBL), one of the leading players, is adding over 2 lakh tonnes of maize crushing capacities for an overall capacity of 5 lakh tpa.

The company is setting up a new plant in Uttarakhand with a total investment of Rs 110 crore. The plant will start commercial production within a month.

"Growth in areas like food, confectionery, pharmaceuticals and textiles is expected to remain high in the country's buoyant economy, and so the domestic market for starch and its derivatives will grow," said Ganpatraj L Chowdhary, managing director, RSGBL.

Similarly, Gujarat Ambuja Exports is doubling its crushing capacities from 500 tpd to 1,000 tpd. Manish Gupta, managing director of the company, said, "Demand is increasing day by day which in turn is making the starch market buoyant."

In order to keep pace with the industrial demand, the company is setting up a new plant in Uttarakhand, which is scheduled to start commercial production by August this year.

The Delhi-based Bharat Starch Industries (BSL) has earmarked Rs 250 crore for a new plant in Karnataka. This is in addition to the company's existing two plants in Haryana and Pondicherry with a total capacity of 230 tpd.

The new plant, whose location is yet to be finalised, will go on stream in two years. "It will have a maize crushing capacity of 500 tpd, around three times that of our Haryana plant," said Navin Vij, general manager, marketing, BSL.

The Mumbai-based Sahyadri Starch intends to take its capacity to 400 tpd by 2009 from the present 250 tpd. The plant is planning a plant in Sangli, close to the Karnataka border.

"The over all investment will be around 27 crore, which will include a captive power unit of 3 mw," said Vishal J Majithia, managing director, Sahyadri Starch.