Ruchi Soya partners with farmers of Odisha to promote oil palm cultivation.

Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd has reaffirmed its commitment to the state of Odisha and promises to be a long-term partner in the development of the state.

The company has partnered with the farmers of Odisha to promote oil palm cultivation in the state. It is the largest player in the state with access to 28,000 hectare land in Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak and Kendrapara districts of Odisha. Under the tripartite agreement with the state government and farmers, the company has exclusive rights to procure Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) of oil palm from farmers.

Upon receipt of the raw material from the farmers, the company will pay to the farmers on every 20th day directly through their bank accounts. There are no middlemen in the transaction. The entire process is transparent and the rates of FFB are linked to the international prices of palm, thus availing benefits of global markets to the local farming community.

Dinesh Shahra, founder and MD, said, “More than 50% of the edible oil consumed in India comes through import. Total imports of vegetable oil, including crude and refined, is set to hit a new record of 10.8 to 11 million metric tonne this year. At an average price of US$1,000 per tonne, India's import bill of edible oil is set to hit a whooping US$11 billion mark this year. In the non-crude section, cost of import of the edible oil occupies a large chunk in India’s rising import bill. On the one hand, the nation cannot continue to spend valuable foreign exchange for the import of edible oil for its growing population; on the other, per acre productivity of oilseeds in India is below average vis-à-vis global standards. In such a precarious scenario, promoting high yielding oil palm cultivation is the only viable option for India. With a potential of 56,000 hectare land suitable for oil palm cultivation, Odisha can play a pivotal role in enhancing palmolein oil production in India.

The company may initially set up 10 metric tonne per hour FFB processing mill in next year in Odisha. Presently we are associated directly with over 4,000 farmers. At present, over 6,000 persons are directly or indirectly linked with this project; however, the project has much larger employment generation potential. Every year we will keep adding more number of farmers depending upon the increasing area under the oil palm plantations. This partnership will surely help the local farmers and in turn help our nation in achieving favourable balance of trade.”

Apart from Odisha, the company is working closely with farmers in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. In Andhra Pradesh, it has access to over 30,000 hectare of plantation. The company operates four oil processing mills with aggregate FFB processing capacity of 125 metric tonne per hour in AP.

Shahra stated, “Our traditional business of marketing of edible oil and soya food is on a growth path in Odisha. We enjoy market leadership in edible oils and soya food category. Our brand ‘Nutrela’ has become synonymous to the soya food product category. ‘Ruchi Gold’ is India’s largest single oil consumer brand. Ruchi Gold enjoys 70% market share in palmolein sales in Odisha. Branded sales of Ruchi Soya as percentage of total sales has been growing in quantitative as well as value terms. With the advent of malls and modern retail, we have been emphasising on experiential marketing for our new products. Branded sales will remain a focus area for Ruchi Soya and new innovative products will be introduced on the back of innovative sales strategies in Odisha.”

Source : fnbnews.com