Cera promoters diversify into horticulture

Madhusudan Industries Ltd, a sister company of Ahmedabad-based Cera Sanitaryware Ltd, has recently diversified into horticulture business by taking up a horticulture project at Rakhiyal area of the city.

As part of its foray into horticulture business the company, owned by promoters of Cera Sanitaryware, will take up plantations of flowers and capsicums in open fields and also set up green houses. Madhusudan Industries is a BSE listed company mainly operating in food processing and vanaspati products segment.

The company intends to cover 10 acres of land under the project. It has already started growing roses, gerbera and capsicums in 6 acres of land from February this year and remaining 4 acres would be developed in the second phase.

"The investment for the horticulture project in Ahmedabad is in the range of Rs. 5 crore to Rs. 7 crore", said Vidush Somany, executive director, Cera Sanitaryware. Somany also looks after the flower business of Madhusudan Industries, a BSE listed company which was demerged from Cera Sanitaryware.

"The company intends to supply these horticulture products mainly to domestic market", he added.

Recently, horticulture business has taken a major boost in Gujarat as some of the corporates have come forward to set up huge green houses in the state.

Over the past couple of years, Gujarat has also seen rapid growth in the number of new green houses. As per the data provided by horticulture department of the state, currently 80 to 90 green houses have come up in the state, mainly in South Gujarat region.

Apart from Madhusudan, a local tile manufacturer Asian Granito Group and some of the progressive farmers have come together to set up a green house cluster at Himmatnagar in North Gujarat.

The proposed cluster will be spread across 30 acres of land and it will have dozens of green houses at a single location.

It is touted as the biggest green house cluster in the state, which already has a 16 acre green house at Suryanagar in Idar.

The initial investment for the project would be in the range of 20 crore.

The green houses will grow flowers and capsicums, which will be exported to overseas countries.