The Hindu Business Line : Arch Commerz plans herbal plunge

ARCH Commerz Ltd, Mumbai, which is engaged in the production and marketing of intermediates for pharmaceutical industry, is likely to tap the potential of the herbal and honey industry with its proposed ventures in these areas.

The company's Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Ajit A. Kamath, told Business Line that the Indian herbal industry around the world has been stereotyped as a system revolving around aphrodisiacs. "We would like to move away from this and promote lifestyle formulations for stimulation of memory, stress relievers, etc." Even the herbal cosmetics spectrum is gathering momentum because of the aversion to the use of chemical cosmetics around the world, he said.

In this regard, Arch Commerz has purchased 50 acres of land at Bajpe, near Mangalore, to develop a herbal village. The village will have model farms for cultivation of local herbs and an ayurvedic rejuvenation centre. A herbatorium with herbs grown in various parts of the country will also come up there.

Mr Kamath said, "We hope that the model farm will be a source of inspiration for the farming community in the region who can be taught the cultivation and propagation techniques of herbs with commercial potential." The idea behind setting up a model farm is to invigorate and motivate farmers to take up herbal plantation on a commercial basis.

Mr Kamath said Arch Commerz would provide front-end services such as extraction and marketing to farmers.

Apart from the foray into herbal arena, there are also plans to venture into apiculture industry. The company is planning a honey brand homologous with its herbal brands. Mr Kamath is keen to tap into the large number of apiaries in coastal Karnataka in this regard. "The potential of honey and lack of a strong local brand will be helpful to us," he said.

Arch Commerz, which has a manufacturing capacity of 720 tonnes of intermediates per annum, has its plants in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Asked is there any plan on setting up a pharmaceutical plant in coastal Karnataka, he said infrastructure for the development of pharmaceutical industry was negligible here. "It is a paradox that landlocked States such as Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are the new paradigms for the pharma industry in India, whereas coastal Karnataka with a well-developed port remains in the backyard," he added.

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