Cargill invests $15 mln to set up cattle supplements plant in Maharashtra

US food major Cargill on Thursday said it has invested $15 million (around Rs 112 crore) to set up a plant in Maharashtra to manufacture health and nutrition supplement bypass fat for dairy cattle.

Cargill India, which posted a revenue of $1.2-1.3 billion last year, has opened a high-pressure hydrogenation plant in Kurkumbh to manufacture bypass fat. The commercial production of the supplement has already started and will be marketed under the global brand Carfe.

"We have made a total investment of $15 million to set up this plant. It has an annual capacity of 35,000 tonnes, making it one of the largest facilities to manufacture bypass fats and speciality waxes in the country," said Keerthy Pethaiyan, regional director, Cargill Bioindustrial, India in a virtual press conference.

Stating that bypass fat is a source of energy for dairy animals, he said this will help in improving milk yield by 7-10 per cent and also fat content.

India has been the largest milk producer in the world for over two decades but milk productivity per animal is still low in comparison to the world average, Pethaiyan said.

On the market size of bypass fat, Pethaiyan said the current size is around 30,000-35,000 tonne in India and it is expected to double by 2025. The compound feed industry is likely to grow 13-15 percent.

He said the company aims to capture significant market share.

This product is already available in developed dairy cattle markets worldwide and will now be locally manufactured at Cargill's new bioindustrial plant at Kurkumbh and made available to dairy farmers and feed manufacturers in India.

The plant will also manufacture speciality vegetable oil-based waxes for industrial application, marketed under the brand name Agri-Pure, which has application in tyre, plastic and candle industry.

Around 80-90 percent of the volume in this plant will be bypass fat, he said.

Cargill's bioindustrial business has a leading presence in sustainable bio-based products including distilled fatty acids used by the paints, inks and coatings industry in India.

In 2016, Cargill set up a plant in Maharashtra at the same location to manufacture FR3 (natural ester dielectric fluid) which is used in transformers.

“India is a key growth market for Cargill and in line with our commitment to the country, this marks a continuation of our investment in India. By building upon our operations at this facility, we will increase our regional footprint and enhance our local capabilities to better support the needs of our local customers as well as multi-national customers across the globe,” said Kurtis Miller, global managing director, Industrial Segment, Cargill Bioindustrial.

Cargill has a presence in 70 countries with a total workforce of 1,55,000.

In India, Cargill started operations in 1987. It has businesses in refined oils, food ingredients, grain and oilseeds, cotton, animal nutrition, bioindustrial and trade structured finance.

With 12 manufacturing plants across businesses, Cargill India markets leading consumer brands of edible oils such as Nature Fresh, Gemini, Sweekar, Leonardo Olive Oil, Rath and Sunflower brand of hydrogenated fats.

It sells wheat flour under the 'Nature Fresh' brand name.

The company markets animal feed and premix under the Provimi, Purina, and EWOS brands.

Cargill India employs more than 4,000 people working across offices and plants and a network of offices, warehouses and depots.