Godrej Agrovet Ltd (GAVL) said Thursday that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh Government on the sidelines of Andhra Pradesh Global Investors Summit (APGIS) 2023. As a part of the MoU, GAVL’s Oil Palm business will be making an estimated investment of ₹100 crores to set up a manufacturing facility for edible oil refinery and solvent extraction plant in the State.

GAVL is the largest oil palm processor in India and works directly with farmers for the entire lifecycle of their crop. With the company already having 45,000 hectares of oil palm plantation area in AP, the proposed new plant will have a projected refining capacity of 400 tonnes per day and will be set up in Seethanagaram, Eluru District in AP. This is GAVL’s first downstream project for value-added products in oil and fats.

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Balram Singh Yadav, Managing Director, GAVL said, “The MoU is in line with Godrej Agrovet’s long-term strategy to be the catalyst in India’s oil mission through sustainable growth of oil palm production. This new investment is built up on the ₹1,000 crores investment in the state by the oil palm, aqua feed, and dairy businesses.”

Present on the occasion of the signing of the MoU were Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister Kakani Goverdhan Reddy, Secretary – Food Processing, AP, Chiranjiv Choudhary, L.Sridhar Reddy – CEO, AP Food Processing Society, Sougata Niyogi, CEO – Oil Palm, GAVL, and Rakesh Swami, Group President Corporate Affairs, Godrej Industries Ltd.

Also read: Godrej Agrovet to double oil palm acreage

Sougata Niyogi, CEO – Oil Palm, GAVL said, “Having pioneered innovation in developing the oil palm sector under irrigated conditions, Andhra Pradesh continues to lead the country’s fresh fruit bunch volume and oil production. With the bulk of GAVL’s oil palm plantation in the State, the facility near our Crude Palm Oil Mills will help cater the captive need originating from oil palm work in the southern States along with the demand from other crude palm oil players in the region. This in sync with the National Mission on Edible Oil - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), which will aid reduce nation’s dependence on imports.”

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India is a net importer of palm oil. Since the launch of the National Mission on Edible Oil - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), in August 2021, GAVL had established a goal to add 60,000 hectares of additional oil palm plantations over the course of the next five years to support the long-term sustainable development of oil palm in India. To achieve this goal, the company recently announced the launch of Samadhan, a one-stop solution centre that would provide a comprehensive package of knowledge, tools, services, and solutions to oil palm farmers. With the company’s oil palm business currently operating in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Odisha, and Northeast, the plan is to establish 50 Samadhan centres by 2027.

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