The Hindu Business Line : Induss Food in talks to upgrade rice mills

Induss Food Products & Equipments Ltd, the country's largest manufacturer of rice mill equipment, will soon forge a technical collaboration agreement with a European company for facilitating upgradation of technology in the domestic rice mill industry.

Talks in this regard have been initiated and a formal agreement is expected to be reached soon, according to Mr Shanti Aggarwal, Managing Director of Induss Food Products & Equipments Ltd. He, however, refrained from mentioning the name of the overseas collaborator pending formal signing of the agreement.

Mr Aggarwal told Business Line that market forces have taken over, consequent upon the Central Government's decision to exempt rice from the purview of the Essential Commodities Act with effect from April 1.

Quality has emerged as a key issue and, as such, it would be imperative for rice mills across the country to upgrade themselves technologically.

The rice milling equipment market size is put at around Rs 50 crore, and Induss has a share of 20 per cent of this market.

On its part, Induss is firming up plans to upgrade its rice mill equipment manufacturing facility here.

The company is also working on plans to use stainless steel instead of mild steel in parboiling and drying equipment so that the colour of the rice can be better retained.

The Government decision to take rice out of the purview of ECA is expected to result in greater movement of paddy and rice stocks from one part of the country to another. Open market sales will gradually become the order of the day even as bigger players shall mark their entry into the rice business. The quality of the rice will therefore become a major determinant of sales volumes.

Besides, the Central Government's decision to withdraw quantitative restrictions on export of non-basmati rice from India will result in increased rice exports.

It would be imperative for the rice mill industry to upgrade facilities so that they can adhere to the strict quality standards of global markets. These quality standards pertain to quality of the grain and uniformity in colour, shape and size, among others.

According to Mr Aggarwal, Induss' was focussed on facilitating technological upgradation of the domestic rice mill industry with a view to ensuring compliance with global quality standards. ``These issues cannot be overlooked especially with India's emergence as a major player in the global rice market'', he said.

The domestic market, too, is moving towards quality rice. A key indicator in this regard is the growing demand for branded and packaged rice.

The two-decade-old Induss Food Products & Equipments is the country's largest manufacturer of parboiling equipment and mechanical drier plants besides being the only rice mill manufacturer with a countrywide installed base. It is also the largest exporter of rice mills from India. A total of 863 Induss plants are installed in various locations in the country while 31 plants have been exported to Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section
Rubber prices improve

Malabar agri college languishes

Monsanto begins gene pyramiding in Bt cotton seeds

Induss Food in talks to upgrade rice mills

Global cotton may firm up on short supply

Karnataka, AP spat over paring tobacco output -- Centre sends emissary to probe board affairs

M&M arm plans 50 `Krishi Vihars'