Keventer buys Gujarat food units
Keventer Agro, the Kolkata based Rs 400 crore foods company promoted by Mahendra Kumar Jalan, is looking for a foreign partner to develop export markets for milk-based products and other food items from India.
The company, which recently acquired a Rs150 crore merchant foods exporting unit in Gujarat, would be signing a memorandum of understanding with the Rajasthan government on November 30 at Jaipur for what could possibly be the country’s largest dairy unit with capacity to process 30 lakh litres of milk a day.
It was also in talks with the the Rajasthan government to roll out its foods and vegetables retailing business in the state.
Jalan, who had earlier filed proposals for both the businesses with the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government in Kolkata, told Business Standard, “I will be meeting the CEO of Danone in Delhi after signing of the MoU, but the deal is far from finalized- there are at least six other companies we are negotiating for induction as joint venture partner”.
Keventer would be free to choose its partner and the other companies in the fray included the “biggest names in the worlds foods business”, said Jalan.
Jalan, who is also the honorary consul of France in Kolkata, said he felt India could emerge as the global food factory for high-end processed products as well as fruits and vegetables.
The Gujarat plants acquired processed and shipped foods ike sesame seeds and oil, peanuts and milk based products, he indicated.
Jalan said data indicated that Rajasthan had substantial surplus production of milk, fruits and vegetables and production could be substantially enhanced, but much of the production was currently being undersold or wasted because it did not have a processing sector like the states of Gujarat or Punjab.
“The foreign partner would bring in technology, export contacts and globally accepted practices into the joint venture”, said Jalan.
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