The Hindu Business Line : Bhoruka to invest $54 m to set up Australian edible oil unit

The facility, to be set up under a venture called Riverina Oils & Bio Energy (ROBE), will start production in October next year with a capacity to crush and refine 17,0000 tonnes oilseeds per year.

“The project is the biggest Indian-backed greenfield investment ever seen in eastern Australia,” ROBE chairman Mr S N Agarwal, whose Bhoruka Group is a key shareholder in the project said on Wednesday.

In long-term, the plant would also produce up to 75 million litres of biodiesel converted either from refined oil or imported palm oil. “India is the world's largest importer of edible oil...That makes the Indian connectivity of this project hugely impor tant, both in terms of the investment and the export market,” ROBE founder and MD Mr D D Saxena said.

The Bhoruka Group, which is one of the largest private power producers in India, is also keen to explore the possible use of biomass, such as the residue from Riverina vineyards and citrus orchards or Queensland sugar cane, to generate power.

Mr Saxena said at its full capacity the plant would generate annual revenue of Australian$150 million with the value of edible oil exports to India and other parts of Asia likely to reach a total of Australian$100 million in the first five years. - PTI

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