ITC BSE -0.09 % merged its tobacco leaf and agri-business divisions to scale it up, considering the critical back-end support the combination could provide to the conglomerate’s expansion in the FMCG sector, particularly packaged food, where it has ambitions to become the country’s largest.
Kolkata-based ITC named Sanjiv Rangrass the chief executive of the merged, Rs 8,265-crore, agri-business which was earlier headed by S Sivakumar. Rangrass, 56, was previously the chief executive of the tobacco leaf business.
Sivakumar, who had developed the e-Choupal sourcing network for ITC, has been made the group head of agriculture and IT businesses with Rangrass reporting to him. Sivakumar, also 56 years old, is a member of ITC’s corporate management committee, the highest decision-making body of the company.
The agri-business division now has two strategic business units (SBUs) — one is tobacco leaf business and the other focussing on agribusiness. While Rangrass will also head the tobacco leaf SBU as an additional responsibility, Rajnikant Rai, 54, has been named CEO of the agri-business SBU.
An ITC spokesperson said the integration of the two units would help the company sharpen competencies and leverage them across value chains. “While supporting the agri raw material sourcing of ITC’s FMCG businesses, which have aspiration of touching Rs 1 lakh crore of business, the integration will also aid in further value addition to agri-produce… creating new drivers for growth,” he said.
Apart from the back-end support and agri exports (ITC is the country’s second largest exporter for agri-products and largest for tobacco leaf), the unit had recently entered into the frozen prawns and onions businesses. It is also drafting plans to enter fruits, vegetables and other perishables segment in fresh, frozen and dehydrated forms. For this, ITC is investing to create climate-controlled infrastructure for an efficient supply-chain across the country.
Source: Economic Times