AFT France plans more potato flakes units

France-based agricultural company, Advanced Food Technologies (AFT), is planning to set up a couple of potato flakes plants in the Hoogly district near Kolkata.

Both the plants with capacity of producing 1200 kg/hour of flakes, would also facilitate extrusion of die cut potato fillets particularly for exports.

"The investments for both the projects together would be in the range of 7 million euro and the plants are expected to be operational by February 2009," said Michel Knockaert, chairman of ATF.

The plants would be set up along with Hoogly based potato export units Bhairamal Gopiram and ATW.

Total investment would go up to 10 million euro if the cost of land and infrastructure are included, he added.

These plants would provide direct employment opportunities to more than 200 people, with local farmers supplying the necessary potato.

"We would require 15,000 ton of potato annually and the suppliers would mostly be the local farmers, arranged by the respective units," Knockaert added.

The company was negotiating with another firm in the same zone, called Allied Logistics, for producing ready to eat vegetable curries.

"It would be vacuum packed with six months shelf life without cold chain, for sale through local retail units," the chairman said on the sidelines of the India International Potato Expo 2008, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata.

The capacity of the plant would be 1500 kg/hour for finished products and it would employ 40 people directly.

"Since the machinery is not imported the total technical investment would be around 1.2 million euro," he added.

Prior to this AFT was associated with the Hoogly plant of Kolkata's Pailan Group for a potato flakes unit.