The Hindu Business Line : Bunge India to enter sugar manufacturing

Chennai, Sept. 21 Bunge India Pvt Ltd, manufacturer of the Dalda brand of vegetable oils, has firmed up plans to enter the sugar industry and is planning to acquire sugarcane crushing capacities in south India.

The company has set a target cane crushing capacity of 7,000 tonnes per day (tpd) in the first phase along with cogeneration of power and ethanol, the company Managing Director, Mr Adhiraj Sarin, told Business Line.

Bunge India is the Indian subsidiary of US-based $26-billion Bunge Ltd having over 450 manufacturing units spread over 32 countries. In India, the company currently operates nine manufacturing units spread over eight States.

Target states

“We are looking in three States in particular — Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh for the sugar unit,” Mr Sarin said.

The total project cost is estimated at around Rs 300 crore. “We are yet to finalise the debt-equity ratio and there is strong possibility that we would be funding the project through internal accruals only,” he said.

Bunge India registered a turnover of around Rs 1,100 crore in 2006-07 and the target for 2007-08 is Rs 1,500 crore, he said.

Sugar biz

Explaining the modalities of the company’s entry into the sugar business, Mr Sarin said that “we are exploring both the opportunities of a full fledged acquisition or in partnership with a local partner”.

“We have set the target that the sugar mill should start commercial operations within one year. For that discussions are going on with many people but I would not be able to divulge the names because of confidentiality agreements,” Mr Sarin said.

However, while the company is looking at having a ready capacity of 7,000 tonnes per day, it is open to the idea of acquiring smaller capacities with the necessary infrastructure for expansion, he said.

More Stories on : Diversification | Sugar | Oilseeds & Edible Oil

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