Cargill India to corn Middle-East and Africa by the end of this year

Cargill India, an agricultural commodities trader arm of Cargill Inc. is gearing up to start its corn mill plant near Bengaluru by the end of this year. The corn mill will be churning around 8000 tons of corns per day which will be exported to Middle East and African nations.

Initially, this plant, which was built with an investment of US $100 million, will process around 8,000 tons of corns per day but it will manage its production as per the demand. The unit will be sourcing its raw material mostly from farmers of Harihar in Davanagere district.

Elaborating further on the information, Jan Bosman, MD, Sarch and Sweeteners Division, Cargill Foods said that the plant will be selling to MNCs in the country such as Nestle and Heinz, but will be also exporting to South East Asian countries, Middle East and Africa.

Cargill is looking at a market share of 15-20 per cent in the next two to three years in the segment as the plant ramps up for full capacity. It will currently process 400 tons corn per day. The plant, which has 400 engineers and skilled workers, would supply modified starch extracted from maize to India-based food and pharmaceutical industries for their bakery, confectionery, snacks, beverage, pharmaceutical and personal care products.

Bosman also added that Cargill is building cattle a feed plant in Punjab for US $15 million and a corn storage complex for an additional US $10 million. Both these investments are over and above the $100 million for the Bengaluru factory.